Shanghai unveils measures to further expand opening up

Shanghai releases 100 measures on July 10 to further expand the city's opening up. [Photo/Xinhua]

Local government officials in Shanghai, China's economic center, released details of 100 measures on July 10 to further expand the city's opening up.

The measures mainly cover the finance, modern service and advanced manufacturing industries, intellectual property protection, imports, and the creation of a preferential business environment for companies to operate in.

Li Qiang, Party secretary of Shanghai, lays out the eight top priorities of further expanding the city's opening up on July 10. [Photo/Xinhua]

Among the measures, eight top priorities were laid out by Li Qiang, Party secretary of Shanghai.

Reforms in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) need to be deepened, including accelerating the implementation of a newly-released negative list for foreign investment in the FTZ, and increasing the influence and scale of the FTZ's reform and innovation.

The China International Import Expo, to be staged in November, must be well-organized in order to take advantage of its benefits which include attracting high-quality global products and services, building a global network for the promotion of export trade, creating a more efficient and convenient trade environment, and advanceing free trade and trade facilitation.

The opening up of financial markets needs to be strengthened in order to attract more financial institutions to locate in Shanghai. Therefore, the amount of fields that allow foreign investors to participate will be increased. Innovation in financial products and financial business will be encouraged. Financial supervision will be enhanced.

The modern service industry and advanced manufacturing industry will be opened up further. The service industry will be encouraged to bring in more foreign investment and to train professionals. The opening up of the manufacturing industry will focus on sectors such as automobiles, aviation, and ships.

The legal and administrative protection of intellectual property needs to be strengthened, including strictly cracking down on violations of intellectual property rights, and improving the capacity to protect intellectual property rights abroad.

As well as encouraging top overseas companies to locate in Shanghai, Chinese companies were encouraged to expand their horizons and go global at the meeting.

It is the hope of authorities to create a world-class business environment in the city, featuring simplified administrative procedures, easy access to markets, and a comprehensive legal system.   

Company representatives attend a government meeting in Shanghai on July 10, during which 100 measures to further expand the city's opening up are released. [Photo/Xinhua]