The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) launched a symposium on June 21 to solicit advice on its future constructions and developments.

The American Chamber of Commerce in China, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, along with various representatives of 14 foreign enterprises, were invited to the symposium to put forward suggestions for the FTZ. Some 16 government departments joined in in at the exchange activity answering questions from the guests.

Shen Xiaoming, director of the FTZ Administrative Committee and Party secretary of Pudong New District, hosted the symposium where he showed his appreciation for the remarkable contribution by foreign enterprises to the regional economic prosperity – which accounts for 56 percent of industrial output value, 67 percent in total import and export volume and 58 percent in tax revenue.

Pudong New District will strive to create a business environment on the rule of law and of international standards and advance trade facilitation as the core driving force in future development, said Shen. He pledged to further deepen the reform of the FTZ and build Pudong into the country's best foreign investment area.

Sun Jiwei, deputy secretary general of Shanghai municipal government, vice secretary of Pudong New District Party committee and district director, gave an address covering the FTZ's advantages and achievements made since its foundation.

As of the end of April this year, there have been more than 5,500 newly established foreign enterprises with an average registered capital of 99.3 million yuan ($15 million), twice the number of domestic enterprises. The FTZ's expansion has attracted more than half of Shanghai's foreign enterprises, which is increasingly gaining recognition from overseas business partners.

The financial industry has become the district's major economic engine, the added value of which accounts for nearly 30 percent of regional GDP. The trade push has increased both imports and exports, increasing Shanghai's Pudong airport up into the top three in terms of freight volume over the past eight years. Covering only a tenth of Pudong New District's area, the FTZ contributes three quarters of the regional GDP and a quarter of Shanghai's GDP.