The Shanghai Free Trade Zone – what did you expect?
October 08, 2013 | BY
clpstaffShanghai's Free Trade Zone has been called one of the largest reforms since Deng Xiaoping's era. But how free will it really be? It is best thought of as an area where the government can focus on ways to achieve its long term goals
On September 27, China's top policy-making body, the State Council, released the General Plan for the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (国务院中国（上海）自由贸易试验区总体方案). The Plan is more of an outline than a specific guide for how the Zone will operate.
It covers six industries with 18 sub-sectors that are open for investment in the Zone, with very few details of how investment in the areas will work. This lack of detail has led to criticism from some observers after unrealistic hopes of what the Zone would look like for investors failed to be realised.
The Shanghai Municipal Government has said more details would follow in the coming months. However, the authorities were happy to distribute a negative list of sectors that foreign investors are not permitted to invest in the Zone during the conference.
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