Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 04/2015

The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone: Backgrounds, Developments and Preliminary Assessment of Initial Impacts

John Whaley

February 2015

Centre for International Governance Innovation

Abstract

The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (SPFTZ) was founded in September 2013, and up until now relatively little has been written in English about this unique initiative. This paper reviews the background and reasons for the SPFTZ, how it has developed and the impact it has had since its opening.