Global Perspectives on Free Trade Zones

The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as Shanghai FTZ) has been active for a year. With regard to the progress in the construction and reform of the free trade zone, how the achievements of the year have been made, and whether the final work submitted by its builders is satisfactory, etc., all these are waiting for the future responses and resonances from its users and other relevant parties involved. As Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pointed out in his visit to Shanghai FTZ that the free trade zone certainly would have a great future - it is a recognition and also an expectation. Actually, "reform" is deeply rooted in the gene of Shanghai FTZ. As a national strategy, the free trade zone is a highlighted stage of reform rather than a policy neglected corner. Over the past year, the FTZ builders have all pitched in and their great endeavors have come down to the following four aspects: the establishment of a negative-list system, which is aimed for the innovation of the investment management system, the increase of trade facilitation and institutional innovation in regulatory services, the exploration on the reform of financial innovation system in the zone, and the basic formation of the in-process and post-mortem supervisory system based on transferred government functions. China's future reform and opening up, of course, is not confined to 28.78 square kilometers of land of the FTZ. However, the experiences and lessons that FTZ has undergone during the exploration process in the past year will be of great values for its counterparts and all those successful experiences could be replicated and promoted elsewhere if needed. The FTZ construction is still on the way, China's reform and opening-up is also on the way, and there will surely be a "great future."

Prof. Feng Shujun, Professor of Shanghai Business School, FormerAssociate Dean of Shanghai Business Development Research Institute