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As
it has become clear that Beijing will want
to see positive results from Shanghai's
new status, before granting further liberalisations,
so the game between rival bidders is to
position themselves to secure a favourable
response for their applications when that
time comes.
Each
city will have to show special features
to win the approval. Xiamen plans to focus
on cross-strait cooperation, facilitating
travellers and cargo and financial services,
undoubtedly aiming to get the highest investment
grade licence.
Said
one Guangzhou official: "We will surely
refer to Shanghai's way and then focus on
the cooperation with Hong Kong and Macau."
Peng
Peng, vice president of a government-run
institute for research of urban development
said, Nansha's bid will largely depend on
whether Beijing wants to immediately give
approval to such schemes once more is known
about Shanghai's experience.
Mr
Peng said the Shanghai free trade zone is
a comprehensive and international one, while
those in other cities might be regional
ones focusing on certain aspects and thus
may only hold a lower and more restrictive
status.
Guangzhou's
Nansha also faces competition from Shenzhen's
Qianhai Bonded Port Area, which is also
developing its own free trade zone bid.
Official documents indicate that Qianhai
is learning as much as it can from free
ports in other parts of the world.
Qianhai
enjoys similar advantages to Hengqin near
Macau. Qianhai mainly focuses on the service
industry while Hengqin covers a wider range
of industries. But Qianhai and Hengqin,
it is argued, are coastal areas without
port facilities or bonded areas while Nansha
has both.
Lin
Jiang, a professor from a research centre
for Pearl River Delta from Zhongshan University,
said that if Beijing is setting up new free
trade zones, southern China would be the
most promising area and Nansha enjoys the
greatest advantages in the region.
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