New documentary about Shanghai FTZ released

The 10-episode documentary Eyes of the World on FTZ, which tells the stories of 10 expats living or working in the China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone, was released on Tuesday.

The Shanghai FTZ, the first of its kind in China, was launched in late September 2013. Covering more than 240 square kilometers, the zone had undergone two expansions in 2014 and 2019. As of the end of 2022, the Shanghai FTZ had attracted $58.6 billion in foreign investment - about 30 percent of the city's total during the same period.

Over the past decade, 18,691 foreign-invested projects were registered in Pudong New Area, where the Shanghai FTZ is located. The registered capital of these projects totaled $217.3 billion - 2.43 times the amount before the launch of the Shanghai FTZ.

Among those featured in the documentary is Alex Zhavoronkov, the founder and co-CEO of Insilico Medicine, a multinational biotechnology company that was set up in the FTZ in June 2019.

Setting up Insilico's global research and development center in Zhangjiang, which is part of the Shanghai FTZ, is "one of the best decisions" the company has ever made, said Zhavoronkov in the documentary.

Another expat featured in the documentary is Valtero Canepa, the general manager of Shanghai Bracco Sine Pharmaceutical Corp Ltd. According to Canepa, the geographic advantage of the Shanghai FTZ can help companies grow rapidly.

Michael Kruppe, CEO of Shanghai New International Expo Center, said in the documentary that he expects to see more companies make investments in Pudong in the next 10 to 20 years due to the favorable policies provided in the Shanghai FTZ.

The new documentary will be aired on major platforms including YouTube, Bilibili, Facebook and Xinhua News.