The State Council released a guideline on Jan 29 on expanding the preferential policies piloted in the Shanghai Pilot Free-Trade Zone (FTZ).

Since the FTZ opened one year ago, authorities in Shanghai have accumulated experiences by delegating power to lower levels, and exploring system innovation.

The experiences that could be replicated around the country include a foreign investment management system by establishing a “negative list” management mode; a supervisory and regulatory system aiming to facilitate foreign trade; an innovative financial system focusing on capital account convertibility and an open market in service sector; and reform measures concerning streamlining the administration and transformation of government functions.

Innovative systems and measures regarding supervision, inspection and quarantine could also be expanded to other special areas supervised by customs authorities around China.

The government asked all departments to prioritize the implementation of these preferential policies piloted in the Shanghai FTZ, as part of the process of deepened all-round reform. The new guideline said that - due to economic globalization - China should gradually build a new development model adapted to the country’s open economy.

Provincial governments and relevant departments of the State Council are also required to establish a work plan, including detailed assignments, timeline and reports involving verifiable results. The Ministry of Commerce is in charge of collecting the work plans by Jan 31, and will forward them to the State Council. Additionally, any major issues must be reported to the State Council in a timely manner.