Xi says China to found more FTZs following Shanghai's example - Xinhua

BEIJING, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The experience gained at China's Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone (Shanghai FTZ) can be copied to more places "as soon as possible", President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

The experience gained at Shanghai FTZ can be compared to "seeds cultivated from an experimental plot", said Xi at the sixth meeting of the Leading Group for Overall Reform.

"We should plant these seeds in more land so that flowers will blossom and fruits be harvested as quickly as possible," Xi said.

According to the reform blueprint adopted last November, China plans to build several FTZs in suitable places other than Shanghai.

The country will copy the replicable practice from Shanghai FTZ to other places as soon as possible, and some of them will be promoted nationwide, he said.

Xi acknowledged the progress made in the Shanghai FTZ, praising the efforts in transforming government functions, facilitating investment and trade and improving business environment.

Some 12,000 firms have been established in the Shanghai FTZ since its launch in late September last year.

Foreign trade in Shanghai FTZ reached 747.5 billion yuan (121.7 billion U.S. dollars) in its first year of operation.

The 29-square-km zone in the Chinese financial hub has promised free trade, greater financial opening and fewer government controls in business activities.

SHANGHAI, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Foreign trade in China's Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone reached 747.5 billion yuan (121.7 billion U.S. dollars) in its first year of operation, Shanghai customs said on Thursday.

Trade volume, up 6.5 percent from the previous year, accounted for 26.4 percent of the total foreign trade in Shanghai. Full story

China Focus: Shanghai FTZ boosts China's economic reforms

BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Microsoft launched its Xbox One gaming console in China on Monday, ending a 14-year ban during the one-year anniversary of the founding of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ).

The Xbox One, launched in the FTZ, will be the first game console legally available in China since 2000. China set up the FTZ on Sept. 29 last year as a test bed for economic reforms. Full story

Xinhua Insight: Financial reform to speed up in Shanghai FTZ

SHANGHAI, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) - Financial reform is about to move faster in the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ), a central bank official said on the eve of the zone's first anniversary.

There have been no regional or systemic risks in the FTZ, thanks to an accounting system enabling cross-border fund flows, said Zhang Xin, deputy head of the Shanghai Head Office of the People's Bank of China (PBoC). Full story