China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone: An Experiment In Economic Reform

The establishment of the Shanghai FTZ has been recognized as a crucial economic reform initiative of China’s new leadership. It was launched with much fanfare as a way to spark deeper economic reform and to trigger a new wave of trade and financial liberalization that can over time spread widely within China. The eleven-square-mile area promises financial deregulation, convertibility of China’s currency, simplification of administrative systems, and freer flow of capital. How the area will affect businesses in China and throughout the world is the essential question before both multinational corporations and local Chinese companies seek to benefit from more relaxed financial and investment controls. And how to help graduate students understand the real development of China’s trade and financial liberalization has become a serious topic inside the faculty team on Chinese trade and economic statecraft.