Shanghai Free-Trade Zone

Also known as China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Building Shanghai Free Trade Zone is a major measure taken by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to advance the Reform and Opening-up under the new era, starting from the general development at home and abroad, coordinating the overall international and domestic situations. On September 29, 2013, China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone was formally established, covering an area of 28.78 square kilometers, covering 4 special customs supervision areas, specifically, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Logistics Park, Yangshan Free Trade Port Area and Shanghai Pudong Airport Comprehensive.

Shanghai Free Trade Zone focuses on promoting institutional innovation in the fields of investment, trade, finance, operational and post-operational, and establishes and forms an investment management system centered on negative list management, a trade regulatory system focusing on trade facilitation, a financial innovation system with the goal of opening up the capital exchange and financial services industry, and operational and post-operational supervision system oriented towards the transformation of government functions. On December 28, 2014, the State Council decided to promote the pilot experience of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and expand the scope of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. After the expansion, the total area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone reaches 120.72 square kilometers, which provides a better space for inspection and stress testing to promote institutional innovation.

The Administration Committee of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and the People’s Government of Pudong New Area jointly set up offices to jointly promote various reform pilot tasks and form more generalizable experience. On April 27, 2015, the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone was officially expanded to explore larger, higher-level, and broader areas of experimentation, which means to combine the construction of the free trade zone with Pudong’s comprehensive accompanying reforms, with Shanghai’s “four centers” and with the construction of the science and technology innovation center, to continue to take institutional innovation as the core, and to deepen reforms and expanding opening up with a higher starting point, broader fields, and greater space.