Vice Premier vows to further develop FTZs in China

BEIJING, April 22  -- China will further develop free trade zones (FTZs), promoting successful experiences while preventing risks, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said Wednesday.

The Shanghai FTZ has achieved prominent success in building a negative list approach, facilitating trade, financial reform, and building an interim and post supervision system, Wang said when delivering a report to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on behalf of the State Council.

Wang said the time taken to register an enterprise in Shanghai FTZ has shortened from 29 days before to four days at present. As of February, a total of 16,200 new enterprises were established in the FTZ, exceeding the number of new enterprises in the past 20 years.

In August 2013, China established the first pilot FTZ in Shanghai. On Tuesday three more FTZs were established in the southern province of Guangdong, Tianjin Municipality in the north and in the southeastern province of Fujian.

The government discovered problems after studying the Shanghai FTZ, such as limited area containing the effects of pilot reforms, work lacking coordination and a need to improve monitoring and supervision systems.

The State Council will supervise the implementation of the work plan for pilot FTZs released earlier this month, Wang said, adding that an inter-departmental system including 30 central organs was established in recent days in a bid to coordinate work concerning pilot FTZs.

A detailed work plan was released on Monday regarding FTZs. FTZs are part of the government efforts to test reform policies and better integrate the economy with international practices in a landscape where China's old export-reliant model is no longer sustainable.

Wang said the Shanghai FTZ should be built as the leading pilot FTZ in the country in terms of its services and governance. Guangdong pilot FTZ should focus on integration with Hong Kong and Macao, while Tianjin pilot FTZ should advance the coordinated development of the neighboring Beijing and Hebei Province.

The FTZ pilot in Fujian should play a role in deepening economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait.

The state council will promote successful experiences in pilot FTZs in systematic and policy innovations to other areas of the country, according to Wang.

Dozens of items of successful experience of Shanghai pilot FTZ, concerning investment system reform, trade facilitation reform, financial opening up and services industry, have been promoted in other areas by the central authority.

Wang called for using a negative list role in national security and improving national security checks for foreign investment. The interim and post supervision systems should be a "firewall" against risk, he said.

The NPC Standing Committee is on session in this week, with lawmakers reviewing a series of draft laws and amendments concerning securities law, national security law, food safety law, among others.

Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of NPC Standing Committee, joined other NPC Standing Committee members to review Wang's report.