Beacons on the reform path ahead

When China established the country's first pilot free trade zone in Shanghai six years ago many people adopted a wait-and-see attitude, as unlike other projects of national importance, the central authorities had not set aside any special funds or offered any preferential policies tailor-made for the zone as, it was intended as a testing ground for reforms.

The FTZ piloted the negative list for foreign investment - which has become shorter year by year - a more efficient registration system for businesses from home and abroad, revised the overall legal framework for the administration of foreign investment and enterprises, and eased restrictions on foreign currency exchange and foreign participation in China's e-commerce sector.

The success of the Shanghai pilot FTZ can be seen from the fact that when China launched six more pilot FTZs on Monday - in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Yunnan and Heilongjiang provinces - it brought the total number of pilot FTZs in the country to 17, each of which is a "test field" for reforms in certain areas.