Shanghai Free Trade Zone's Direct Sales Center of Imported Commodities has recently opened a shop at one of the city's subway stations. The shop has attracted customers because some of the goodsthere are unique and prices are about 50 percent cheaper than those in ordinary shops. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi says that Shanghai pilot zonereforms can bear fruit elsewhere

The business model behind the pioneering China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone should now be copied at other suitable sites across the country where conditions are right, according to President Xi Jinping.

Addressing a meeting of top decision-makers, the president said the experience gained in the Shanghai FTZ "are like seeds cultivated in a test field, and now we will plant them across a greater range of sites, in a hope that they will bear more fruit".

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

Some 12,000 firms have been established in the Shanghai FTZ since its launch in late September last year. Foreign trade in the zone reached 747.5 billion yuan ($122.25 billion) in its first year of operation, according to Xinhua.