2016年CRI China decides to add 7 new free trade zones

 

The new FTZs will be located in the provinces of Liaoning, Zhejiang, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi, as well as in the Municipality of Chongqing.

The expansion comes 3 years after the first FTZ was launched in Shanghai.

That program was meant to test a broad range of economic reforms, including more openness to foreign investment and fewer restrictions¹ on capital flows.

A second group of FTZs was later approved for Tianjin, Fujian and Guangdong in late 2014.

Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng says the decision to expand the number of FTZs to eleven should be viewed as a sign of the Chinese government's desire to open the country up even more to outside investment.

"The new FTZs will closely follow the key principle of structural² innovation. We are using the existing pilot projects as the main blueprint³, but will adjust the rules according to the local situations. By doing this, we ultimately hope to deepen our overall reform strategies."

The new free-trade zone in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning is being designed to try to transform the old industrial base in the region, with the ultimate goal of turning the 'rust⁴ belt' into a competitive region once again.

The FTZ in Zhejiang will focus mostly on commodities, with trade rules being liberalized.

Henan has been tapped for transportation and logistics development.

In neighboring Hubei, high-tech⁵ bases going to be built to help bolster⁶ the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The remaining three new FTZs are going to be located in China's less-developed western region.

While the new FTZs will all have their specific goals, all will be built up through the "negative list" concept.

Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng says by providing a list of areas that are off-limits to foreign investment, rather than a lengthy⁷ list of areas which are open, it will make investment much more streamlined.

"In terms of reform, we have introduced the negative lists for foreign investment which greatly simplifies the administrative⁸ approval process. And in the spirit of increased openness, we have also cut special management procedures for foreign investment from 190 items in 2013 to 122 at present. We've also taken steps to make it easier for foreign firms to move products into China, cutting customs clearance⁹ times by some 40-percent."

Chinese authorities note that under the loosened policies, some 49-hundred foreign-funded firms were established in the existing four FTZs through the first half of this year, with investments worth close to 54-billion US dollars in total.

A recent poll conducted by the State Council's Development Research Center shows 82 percent of the firms surveyed are reporting "notable progress" in the business environment, while 95 percent have expressed optimism about their future development.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

3 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

4 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

7 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

8 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

9 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。