Nearly 19,500 companies have been attracted to China's three new pilot free trade zones, many involved in the country's fast-growing services and financial sectors.
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A total of 19,470 enterprises started operations in the zones by the end of June, said Tang Wenhong, director-general of the Ministry of Commerce's department of foreign investment administration.
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Tianjin, Guangdong and Fujian were added to the pilot free trade zone list in April, after the first FTZ, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, was unveiled nearly two years ago.
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The Tianjin zone is designed to promote a more coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province. It plans to focus on shipping services and finance, with policies regarding ship registration and other areas of maritime law and arbitration being fine-tuned and improved to allow the port city to compete better with other international shipping hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
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The modern Maritime Silk Road begins in Fujian and Guangdong, before heading south into the ASEAN region. From the Straits of Malacca, it then turns west to South Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe.
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Li Guanghui, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said establishing more free trade zones is inevitable.
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Official numbers from Shanghai FTZ show it attracted 4,599 registered enterprises between January and May.Â
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Nearly 19,500 companies have been attracted to China's three new pilot free trade zones, many involved in the country's fast-growing services and financial sectors.
