CHINA will set up three new free trade zones (FTZs) in the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian and Tianjin Municipality, based on experience drawn from experiments in the Shanghai FTZ, the State Council said Friday.

    The new zones will be modeled on the Shanghai FTZ, but can see new experiments, the country’s Cabinet said.

    The pilot scheme, part of wider financial reforms such as transitioning to a fully convertible yuan currency, is seen as an important step towards developing a more open economy regulated by policies similar to those in developed markets.

    Since September 2013 when the Shanghai pilot FTZ was launched, negative list management, foreign trade, financial services and governmental supervision have all been overhauled.

    The Shanghai zone will continue to shorten the “negative list,” or the list of sectors where foreign investment is banned or restricted, the Cabinet said.

    The Cabinet promised more experimentation in the Shanghai FTZ to help foreign investment, the services sector and advanced manufacturing.

    Some experiences in investment, trade, finance, services and supervision will be extended nationwide, and innovative inspections and quarantine will be used in other areas under special customs supervision. Administrative reform is key to vitalizing the market and shall be further pushed forward.

    Over 100 kinds of approvals involving investment, business operations and employment will be canceled or delegated to lower levels, fueling entrepreneurship and easing the burden on private businesses.

    Some 26 permits in telecommunications and road freight will be adapted to improve market access. Approval and authentication of 68 occupational qualifications will be abolished and another 10 appraisal items will be cut, the Cabinet said.

    (SD-Agencies)