China to launch Guangdong free trade zone March 18: trade body

[GUANGDONG] China plans to launch the Guangdong free trade zone (FTZ) on March 18, less than two years after its Shanghai FTZ was rolled out, according to a trade association in the province.

China announced it would set up three new trade zones in Guangdong, Fujian and Tianjin last December, based on experience drawn from the zone in Shanghai.

Hu Chunhua, the Communist Party head of Guangdong, and Zhu Xiaodan, the province's governor, would attend the launch ceremony, the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association said on its microblog.

The pilot FTZs, part of wider financial reforms such as moving to a fully convertible yuan currency, are seen as an important step towards developing a more open economy.

REUTERS