In Shanghai FTZ's six years of existence, the zone has pioneered new approaches, including the nation's first "negative list" to simplify areas open to foreign investment and breakthroughs in the reform of foreign capital management, the streamlining of issuing business licenses, the fast-tracking of customs clearance and the development of free trade accounts.

The zone has generated 202 institutional innovations that can be replicated throughout the country.

The free trade account system allows companies and financial institutions in the zone to independently carry out overseas financing, with less foreign-exchange control.

The separation of business licenses and administrative approvals in the zone has benefited businesses involved in such sectors as fresh product deliveries, vocational training, lab-to-shelf medicines, cosmetics imports and registration of medical devices.

The registration process for the establishment of a company in the free trade zone now takes two days at most.

The number of applications for construction company qualification increased 144 percent in 2017 and 111 percent in 2018.

A national cross-border e-commerce demonstration park has been established in the zone's bonded area. It supports bonded imports, direct purchase imports and general exports, and has become the biggest area for the development of e-commerce in Shanghai.

Not long ago, China's first free trade agreement on a preferential tariff application system, called Smart FTAX, started operating in the zone, providing one-stop services to companies. The system was developed by the operation center of the Asia-Pacific Model E-Port Network to facilitate trade among 19 member states and regions, many of which are BRI countries.

In addition, the international trade "one counter" system enables paperless applications for import licenses and customs clearance.

The FTZ uses big data technology to monitor key fields and emerging sectors, and upload figures to the city's public credit information service platform.

Commercial banks in the zone are allowed to form asset investment and management companies without any cap on foreign ownership, and foreigners will be allowed to take majority stakes in domestic life insurance companies based in the zone.

The zone will also accelerate the Shanghai-London Stock Connect.

The zone counts among its achievements China's first reinsurance broker, the first foreign-funded vocational training institute, the first wholly foreign-owned yacht design company, the first foreign medical institute, the first wholly foreign-owned engineering design firm and the first foreign certification company to adopt international food safety standards.

Lin-gang serves as a hub for cutting-edge science and technology, intelligent manufacturing and the Made in Shanghai campaign. [Photo/Shanghai Daily]