(Yicai) Nov. 6 -- Shanghai will make greater efforts to promote high-level opening-up and play a leading and exemplary role to better serve China’s strategy of further opening-up to the outside world, Vice Mayor Xie Dong said.

As China's first pilot free trade zone, the Shanghai FTZ has been closely linked to building the city into an international finance center since it was formed, Xie said yesterday at a financial reform and innovation forum held on the first day of this year’s China International Import Expo. 

A testing ground for economic and social reforms, the FTZ was officially launched in September 2013, a month after the State Council, China's cabinet, approved its establishment.

Shanghai's achievements in financial reform and innovation over the past 10 years include advancing the opening-up of the financial system, improving the global financial resource allocation function, and deepening innovation in the financial system and mechanisms, Xie added. 

In furthering the financial system’s opening-up, the FTZ introduced a free trade account system, was the first in China to launch a two-way cross-border Chinese yuan capital pool, issued the country's first negative list guidelines for financial sector opening-up within FTZs, and was the first to start the high-level opening-up of cross-border trade and investment and pilot reform of foreign exchange management, she noted.

In improving the global financial resource allocation function, Shanghai has promoted the set up of national financial markets and financial infrastructure in the city, including the Shanghai Insurance Exchange, China Trust Registration, the headquarters of China Central Depository & Clearing, the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, and the Shanghai Gold Exchange’s international business, she pointed out.

Shanghai has also supported local institutions in launching the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, the Shanghai-London Stock Connect, linkage of the bond markets and the interest rate swap markets in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, as well as crude oil, treasury bonds, and shipping index futures that foreign investors can trade directly, Xie added.

The six wholly foreign-owned public funds, five joint venture wealth managers, and many fintech companies that China has approved have all settled in the Shanghai FTZ, she noted. As of the end of September, there were 1,759 licensed financial institutions in the city, with nearly one-third foreign-funded, she noted.

In deepening the innovation of the financial system and mechanisms, Shanghai has been devoted to making good use of the legislative delegation that the Pudong New Area has gained to build a more global and legalized development ecology and create a sound market environment for overseas financial service companies that do business in the city, Xie said.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev