Shanghai free trade pilot zone expansion

The first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. [Photo/VCG]

President Xi Jinping said in his speech at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Monday that a new area will be included in the China (Shanghai) Free Trade Pilot Zone, in order to further advance opening-up.

And speaking on Tuesday, Wu Qing, vice-mayor of the Shanghai Municipal Government, said that the Shanghai free trade pilot zone will be considerably expanded.

China's first free trade pilot zone, the Shanghai free trade pilot zone, was established in September, 2013. Since then it has been expanded once from 28.78 square kilometers to its current size of 120.72 square kilometers.

Since it was launched, the Shanghai free trade pilot zone has made many bold innovations and explorations in promoting investment and trade liberalization in China. It has accumulated a lot of experience that can be copied and promoted in the construction of foreign investment management system with negative list management as the core, trade supervision system focusing on trade facilitation, financial system innovation with the goal of capital account convertibility and financial service industry opening, and transformation of government functions.

The expansion of the Shanghai free trade pilot zone shows China will further open up to the outside world and embrace free competition. And China's business environment will further improve as well.