As a "test ground" for the country's institutional opening-up, the Zhengzhou Area of the Henan Free Trade Zone focuses on institutional innovation as its core mission, deeply cultivating new pathways for inland openness. It continues to unlock new achievements in innovative practices, showcasing the high-level opening up of inland regions to the outside world.

Leveraging Zhengzhou's role as a comprehensive transportation hub, the area prioritizes multimodal transport as a key driver for opening up trade routes. By synergizing efforts across the "Silk Road in the Air," the "Silk Road on the Internet," and the "Silk Road on the Sea," it transforms its logistical advantages into trade and industrial strengths. It has become a vital link connecting China's vast market with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative. The first-ever investment from Belarusian capital in the area serves as a vivid testament to its international logistics and trade potential.

Focusing on institutional innovation, the area has generated 394 innovative achievements over the past eight years, 56 of which are national firsts, with 12 experiences being replicated nationwide. By continuously breaking new ground in areas such as investment, trade, and finance, it has introduced pioneering measures to overcome the challenges of inland openness. Moreover, it has established a virtuous cycle of "pilot testing—achievement transformation—region-wide application," ensuring that the benefits of reform are shared across the entire region.

The area has deepened reforms to streamline administration, delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services, promoting initiatives such as "one-stop processing" and "unnoticed approval," which have increased approval efficiency by over 60%. Supported by the Free Trade Zone Court, the Free Trade Zone Procuratorate, and provincial-level foreign-related legal service centers, it has built a comprehensive legal guarantee system, making "investing in Zhengzhou, hassle-free operations" a distinct hallmark.

Now, standing at the new starting point of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the Henan Free Trade Zone continues to deepen its engagement with the Belt and Road Initiative, ensuring that foreign capital can "enter smoothly and grow robustly." By empowering industrial upgrading through institutional innovation and expanding its international "circle of friends" through open cooperation, it is striving to become a model zone for inland open economy, enabling the country's "test ground" to yield more high-quality development fruits.