Shanghai FTZ a model for the whole country
June 26, 2017 Category Foreign trade, Weekly
Rolled out in September 2013, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone has become a model for economic growth. “Shanghai FTZ became a national test model – it was not just a local initiative,” said Weng Zuliang, Party Secretary of Pudong. The Shanghai FTZ has expanded to 120.72 square kilometers from its original size of 28.78 sq km. Last year, it produced 75% of GDP for the Pudong New Area. It also accounted for one-fourth of the city’s GDP. The “negative list for foreign investment” in the zone has been dramatically reduced, while the number of newly registered companies increased to more than 40,000 since 2013. The time needed for clearance of imported container goods and airfreight has been reduced by 25% and 11% respectively. One of the challenges ahead is for the FTZ to become more closely linked to the country’s Belt and Road Initiative to let more companies reach overseas markets. Companies registered in the Shanghai FTZ have reported a total trade volume of CNY333.9 billion with economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. In the first quarter of this year it topped CNY95 billion, up 28.7% compared to the same period in 2016. By the end of last year, companies registered in the trade zone had funded 108 projects in 25 countries related with the Belt and Road Initiative.
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