China's free trade zones set pace for reform
SHANGHAI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Free Trade Zones (FTZs) have become pacesetters for China's reform and opening up, an official with the Ministry of Commerce said at a forum Wednesday.
Since establishing the first pilot FTZ in Shanghai in 2013, China has boasted 21 FTZs nationwide. Up to 302 institutional innovations have been nurtured in these areas and promoted nationwide, said Guo Tingting, vice commerce minister.
"In the past decade, these areas have contributed 18 percent of the country's foreign investment and foreign trade volume with less than four-thousandths of the country's land area," Guo added.
In the future, the pilot FTZs will further align their policies with high-standard international economic and trade rules, promote institutional opening up, and improve market access, according to Guo.
Also, in pilot FTZs, efforts will be made to strengthen the integration of reforms in different areas and explore ways to build modern industrial clusters with their own characteristics, Guo said.
Photos
Related Stories
- Pilot FTZ in China's Guangxi boosts foreign trade
- CDB to issue dollar-denominated offshore bonds to support Shanghai FTZ development
- A decade on, China's free trade zones become pacesetters for further reform and opening-up
- Chinese premier calls for improved pilot FTZs, exploration of high-level opening-up
- China to promote more FTZ reform measures nationwide
Copyright © 2023 People's Daily Online. All Rights Reserved.