Shanghai FTZ an open gateway for global trade

A view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A pioneer in the country's reform and opening-up, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone has made institutional innovation its core focus and implemented a series of groundbreaking measures in investment and trade over the past decade.

These initiatives include the negative list for foreign investment, filing management for overseas investment projects and the single window for international trade.

Shen Weihua, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said that the Shanghai FTZ has through institutional innovation stimulated the vitality of its main business entities. 

"Foreign investment continues to pour in, and the economic scale and level have continuously improved," he said.

Statistics show that Pudong New Area had 18,691 newly established foreign-funded projects with a combined registered capital of $217.27 billion and an actual foreign investment of $74.99 billion as of the end of 2022. The scale of goods trade had increased from 1.55 trillion yuan ($212.04 billion) in 2013 to 2.46 trillion yuan in 2022.

At present, China is actively promoting accession to high-standard economic and trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a major Asia-Pacific trading bloc, and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA). The requirements of these agreements are closely aligned with the key issues faced by China in its quest to reform and open up.

Next, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, in collaboration with relevant departments, will leverage the pilot role of the Shanghai FTZ and focus on border post-management systems in fields like service trade, goods trade, digital trade, intellectual property and government procurement, and adopt international standards for rules, regulations and management.