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Lin-gang Special Area aiming for the world
By:Wu Qiong  |  From:english.eastday.com  |  2019-09-09 17:40

“The Lin-gang Special Area is not an expansion of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, but an upgraded version of it,” said Zhou Zhenhua, dean of the Shanghai Global Cities Research Institute, at a media academic salon on September 5.

The salon was held by the Shanghai Social Science Association (SSSA) to discuss and gain a better understanding of the newly launched Lin-gang Special Area. On August 6, China’s State Council unveiled a framework plan to include Lin-gang into the six-year-old China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (SHFTZ).

There are six major differences between the new area and the original free trade zone, said Dr. Quan Heng, deputy president of the SSSA. The area pays more attention to high-level institutional innovation, so as to build a freer allocation system of production factors and global resources. It aims to build a functional platform to turn the area into a highland of special economic development. While highlighting the agglomeration of high-end production factors and industrial chain cultivation in advanced manufacturing and modern service industries, the Lin-gang Special area stresses industrial innovation and upgrading, in order to form a new growth point for Shanghai’s economy.

The launch of the new area symbolizes China’s promise of further opening up to the rest of the world. However, in this process, as Dr. Quan said, risk control needs to be ensured, especially in the service industry. Therefore, the new area is seen as a test field for the balance between openness and risk prevention and control.

In addition, the area is not only aimed at Shanghai and China, but also at the world. Through a series of internationally competitive taxation systems and policies, it seeks to become a land of institutional innovation with global standards as benchmarks. Last but not least, more emphasis is given on independent reform, independent innovation, and independent development. That means, the local-level government are given more autonomy in reform and innovation.

While agreeing with Dr. Quan, Zhou Zhenhua added that the positioning of the new area is also different from the original free trade zone. “Serving as a special economic zone, the new area is a clear demonstration of China’s attitude of adhering to all-round opening up. Its positioning is to actively lead the healthy development of globalization. This is a major difference,” said Zhou.

He also believes that the expansion of the SHFTZ will accentuate both development and opening up, as there is enough space and room for development in Lin-gang.

 

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