New Lingang area of Shanghai Free Trade Zone inaugurated

The new Lingang area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone was inaugurated on Tuesday.

The new Lingang area in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone is inaugurated on Tuesday, August 20, 2019. [Photo: VCG]

The district, where Tesla is building its first overseas factory, will cover an area of 119.5 square kilometers in the first stage.

According to a plan issued by China's State Council earlier this month, the new area will match the standard of the most competitive free trade zones around the world, with favorable tax policy and institutional innovation to facilitate overseas investment and capital flows, and allow for the free flow of goods.

U.S. electric car maker Tesla's first overseas Gigafactory is under construction in the new Lingang area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. [File photo: VCG]

Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory, the largest overseas-funded manufacturing project in Shanghai's history, has benefited from the innovative services available in the new area. The factory obtained its first comprehensive acceptance certificate for a workshop on Monday, just three days after submitting the application materials. The quick turnaround time is thanks to the highly-integrated acceptance process in the free trade zone. The plant is expected to start production in November, with the capacity to produce up to 500,000 electric cars a year.

The new Lingang area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. [File photo: IC]

The new Lingan area has sea and air freight connections provided by the nearby Yangshan Deep-water Port and Pudong International Airport. It also had rail, road, and inland waterway connections, making it one of the world's most well-connected free trade zones.

Key industries operating in the new area include integrated circuit manufacturing, artificial intelligence development, biomedicine, and civil aviation.

The administrative service center of the new Lingang area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. [File photo: IC]

The government is aiming to turn the new zone into a competitive hub for international businesses, cross-border financial services, frontier technology research and development, and cross-border services trade. It's also hoped that the zone will speed up the industrial upgrading of existing companies in the area.