The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) has seen impressive growth since its establishment two years ago, growing from just 36 enterprises when it first started in 2013 to its current population of more than 26,000. But local authorities are keen to keep up the momentum and have already set their eyes on achieving more progress.

Shanghai Party Chief Han Zheng stressed that further development of the Shanghai FTZ should be aimed at four major areas - continuous efforts to transform government functions, introducing innovation to the financial system, providing impetus to transform Shanghai into an international finance, trade, shipping and economic center, and aiding the transformation of the Pudong New District.

As of end August, the Shanghai FTZ has attracted 4,891 newly registered foreign-invested companies with a total investment of $73.16 billion. Foreign-invested companies with investments exceeding 10 million yuan ($1.57 million) have reached 1,291.

"It is not the Shanghai FTZ's mission to stand out from its peers, but rather to strive to excel with its own merits. What differentiates the Shanghai FTZ right now is the fact that this FTZ is located within one administrative area. In this sense, we can promote the successful experiences of the FTZ within Pudong," said Shen Xiaoming, director of the management committee of the Shanghai FTZ and party chief of Pudong.

According to Shen, the key responsibilities of the Shanghai FTZ can be categorized into three areas - streamlining of administration and delegating power to lower levels, providing administration in the necessary areas, as well as optimizing government services.

"We should further lower the market threshold in certain areas. The service industry has been a fine example in this regard with 1,030 items having been opened. What's more, the cost of setting up new businesses should be lowered. The centralized registration of companies within the FTZ has helped to realize that goal," he said.

In the following days, local authorities are expected to further accelerate the implementation of reform policies regarding the separation of business licenses and operating permits while the administrative body eliminates redundant licensing items. Shen added that a corresponding supervision system should be in place for industries that have had their licensing items eliminated. For those that cannot be eliminated, transparency must be further improved.

Shen believes that the bonded zones within the FTZ should explore a new management model and that an experiment should be conducted to assess the feasibility of combining business at Yangshan Deepwater Port with the international transfer of airport delivery. The customs clearance time and costs should be reduced as well, he said.

"The development of technology trade and service trade, and the cluster of high-end service companies, including third-party identification companies and art dealing companies, should be accelerated," he said. "Offshore economy and cross-border business should be further promoted as well, while cross-border e-commerce as well as related foreign currency and tax systems should be completed," added Shen.

He also stressed that Shanghai's quest to become a global science and tech hub is closely pegged to the FTZ's ability to further innovations to the finance and technology sectors via a steady flow of talents, institutions and capital.