Shanghai to open free trade zone this month

Shanghai plans to launch the mainland’s first free trade zone on September 27 with city vice mayor Ai Baojun supervising the program, South China Morning Post reported, citing several government sources familiar with the matter. If all goes according to plan, the Shanghai free-trade zone will be up and running less than three months after Li Keqiang first announced his intention to create it. Late last month, the government announced the final approval for the special zone, which will span 28.78 square kilometers in Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao, Yangshan and Pudong districts.