Xi urges Shanghai to spearhead reforms, calls FTZ a National Strategy

BEIJING - China’s President, Xi Jinping, has encouraged officials to make bold moves in the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ) and to continue the zone’s leading role in spearheading China’s ongoing reform and opening-up drive. Xi made the remarks while taking part in a panel discussion with a delegation from Shanghai during the annual session of the National People's Congress.

Stressing that the FTZ is a national strategy, Xi called for greater efforts in facilitating trade and investment, as well as effective supervision and legal regulation, to achieve results. The Government aims to liberalise interest rates, facilitate cross-border use of the Chinese yuan and allow individuals in the zone to sidestep restrictions on investing in securities abroad.

The FTZ launched last year as a test bed for deepening market-oriented reforms and to explore applicable systems for nationwide replication, but heavy restrictions dampened enthusiasm for the zone. The Government has since emphasized it will further relax rules in 2014, and Xi’s call for boldness indicates the FTZ may soon become more open.