SHANGHAI, Sept. 26 -- The Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ) and the negative list approach have made it easier for foreign companies to enter the Chinese market, the head of the FTZ said on Friday.

Companies in the zone with businesses that are not on the negative list do not have to go through normal approval processes.

A new list has reduced the number of banned items from 196 to 139, Ai Baojun, director of the FTZ, told a press conference on Friday.

"The updated version of the negative list has broadened market access and improved transparency," Ai said.

The 29 square km zone was launched on September 29, 2013 as a testbed for reform. More than 12,000 firms have set up there.

Many special measures piloted in the zone--business registration, cross-border investment, customs clearance, cross-border use of renminbi--have been replicated elsewhere in China.