China may see the emergence of more free trade zones as the central government reportedly has approved 12 places to start preparations following Shanghai’s footsteps.

Local governments in most of these places have started to do research and evaluation after their preliminary ideas for an FTZ received the go-ahead from the State Council, China’s Cabinet, the Economic Information Daily, a newspaper run by the Xinhua news agency, reported yesterday, citing unnamed authorities.

Although the report didn’t name them, it said places including Zhejiang, Guangdong, Tianjin, Suzhou, Wuxi, Shandong, Liaoning, Henan, Fujian, Sichuan, Hefei, Guangxi and Yunnan have prioritized setting up an FTZ in their work this year.

The research and evaluation process usually takes more than a year before a final detailed proposal comes out.

A report by the National Business Daily earlier said Guangdong Province will soon be approved to establish China’s second FTZ to deepen economic ties with Hong Kong and Macau. Xiamen in Fujian Province also said it’s preparing for an FTZ to forge closer cross-strait trade.

Shanghai’s pilot FTZ has unveiled several measures to facilitate trade, attract investment and open the service sector further.