China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereafter referred to as GDFTZ) was formally approved by the State Council and established on 31 December, 2014.

Scope of implementation

The scope of implementation for GDFTZ is set at 116.2 square kilometers and covers three areas: Nansha Area of Guangzhou, a 60-square-kilometer district (incorporates 7.06 square kilometers of Guangzhou’s Nansha Bonded Port Area); Qianhai & Shekou Area of Shenzhen, a 28.2-square-kilometer district (incorporates 3.71 square kilometers of Shenzhen’s Qianhai Bay Bonded Port Area), and Hengqin Area of Zhuhai, a 28-square-kilometer district.

Division of functions

Nansha Area of Guangzhou will prioritize shipping logistics, special finance, international trade, high-end manufacturing and other industries, to be established as a new modern industrial base with manufacturing service industry as the focus, and a world-leading comprehensive service hub.

Qianhai & Shekou Area of Shenzhen will prioritize finance, modern logistics, information services, science and technology services and other strategic emerging service industries, to be established as an experimental window to the world for China’s financial industry and become a significant base for global service trade and a international hub port.

Hengqin Area of Zhuhai will prioritize tourism, leisure and health, business financial services, culture, science, education and high tech, and other industries, to be established as an area of open and leading culture and education, and a leisure and recreation base for international commercial services, as well as create a new carrier that promotes appropriate and diversified economic development in Macao.

Advantage

Guangdong FTZ has five main advantages.

Its first advantage is superb location. Guangdong FTZ is the nearest place in the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong and Macao, and it also the only mainland location directly connected to both Hong Kong and Macao, only a 45 minutes’ drive away by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

Secondly, Guangdong FTZ has already adopted the clearance system of "hierarchical management", which contributes to more effective clearance management, and simplifies the clearance procedures for residents in Hong Kong and Macao to gain access to the mainland. It also implements the Port Management Model of Intelligent Inspection of a Full Business Line, 24-hour Internet Declarations and "6 zero" (zero fee, zero paper, zero-time, zero distance, zero threshold, zero barrier) declarations.

Thirdly, Guangzhou FTZ enjoys more beneficial policies and more innovative support mechanisms, such as 22 pilot policies and a 15 percent tax discount for enterprises in the Modern Service Cooperative Zone of Qianhai.

The fourth advantage of Guangdong FTZ is strong industrial support. It’s located in the Pearl River Delta, one of the most developed regions in China. Its robust industrial base provides a large number of business partners and enormous market opportunities for corporations.

Guangdong FTZ also enjoys ecological advantages. Seventy percent of the land is reserved as prohibited or restricted construction areas and a green transportation system has been created which is accessible, orderly, safe and comfortable. Moreover, environmentally-friendly and low carbon materials are used, and it also is one of the first national ocean ecological civilization demonstration areas.