Shanghai FTZ’s achievements and future development have been highlighted in the recently published Blue Book of China’s Free Trade Agreements and Free Trade Zones (2017).

The publication reports China has established FTZs with 13 countries and the total foreign trade value amounts to 30 percent of China’s total import and export volume.

The establishment experience of Shanghai's FTZ has been promoted to FTZs in Liaoning, Zhejiang and Henan provinces and another four regions.

It includes introducing a series of measures to facilitate clearance procedures, such as shortening registration time for companies in the FTZ from 40 days to 3 days, the Blue Book says.

Sixteen financial policies initiated by the People’s Bank of China and State Administration of Foreign Exchange in the FTZs have been implemented across China.

Also, a new management style of “Do Business First, Register Later” has taken shape, the Blue Book reports. The FTZs aim to further reduce government’s involvement in the market, relax restrictions on investment abroad, standardize market management, and reduce enterprise management costs.

The future priority of the FTZs will be to create a more standardized and law-abiding market environment, and provide more autonomy and innovation freedom to business.

The 2017 edition of the Blue Book was co-published by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Finance & Banking, and China’s Social Sciences Academic Press.

Source:china-shftz.gov.cn