Pingtan 'key component' of Fujian FTZ

A newly approved free trade zone in Fujian province will be established in March, with the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone - which will be part of the FTZ - expected to focus on cross-Straits cooperation, local authorities in Pingtan said on Friday.

In early December, an executive meeting of the State Council, China's cabinet, decided that three new pilot free trade zones would be set up in Guangdong and Fujian provinces and the municipality of Tianjin.

The Fujian FTZ, covering 118 square kilometers, is scheduled to open in March, said Zhou Qingsong, deputy director of the administrative committee of the Pingtan zone. The FTZ will include a Pingtan section covering 43 square km, making the zone a prominent section of the project, Zhou said.