EXPERIENCE gained at China’s Pilot Free Trade Zone in Shanghai can be copied to more places “as soon as possible,” President Xi Jinping said yesterday.

It can be compared to “seeds cultivated from an experimental plot,” Xi told the Leading Group for Overall Reform meeting.

“We should plant these seeds in more land so that flowers will blossom and fruits be harvested as quickly as possible,” Xi said.

According to a reform blueprint adopted last November, China plans to build several FTZs in other places.

The country will copy practices from the Shanghai FTZ to other places as soon as possible, and some of them will be promoted nationwide, he said.

Xi acknowledged the progress made in the Shanghai zone, praising the efforts in transforming government functions, facilitating investment and trade and improving business environment.

Some 12,000 firms have been established in the Shanghai zone since its launch in late September last year.

Foreign trade reached 747.5 billion yuan (US$121.7 billion) in its first year of operation.

The 29 square kilometer zone in China’s financial hub has promised free trade, greater financial opening and fewer government controls in business activities.