Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone Competition Analysis And Prospects

The meaning of integration of zone and port is that free trade zone cooperates with the neighboring ports, with the development focused on logistics, implementing the policy of free trade zone in the specially designated zone within the port, in which closed management is carried out according to the free trade policy. As an extend of the logistics park, the zone will take the advantage of the transportation of the port to streamline the transportation procedure of goods, to speed the transportation of goods and to lower the cost of enterprise, thus to promote the development of storage in the free trade zone. Integration of zone and port is an internationally adopted mode of development of free trade zone. With the seamless integration between port and free trade zone, goods will be transported rapidly by effective combination of multiple methods with simplified procedure.The integration experiment of zone and port in Waigaoqiao is implemented in the following steps:1. Attract multinational companies to forge high-level modern logistics;2. Improve management and services to foster a favorable development environment;3. Develop park characterized functions to amplify the output effects of integration of zone and port;The Waigaoqiao integration experiment spot is also an innovated attempt of custom supervising system, technology applications and park administrations. Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone will utilized the opportunity of integration experiment to enhance the development of functions, with the effective integration of functions of logistics with port management, storage, international trade and export process, actively develop logistics and logistics parks, thus advance the economic development of the free trade zone.As an important part of the development of an international maritime transportation center, Yangshan Deep Water Port Phase I Project has been completed and officially launched into operation on December 10, 2005, and the affiliated Yangshan Free Trade Zone will inevitably post a challenge to the development of Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone in the future.Compared with Yangshan Free Zone, Waigaoqiao Free Zone has the following advantages: industrial pre-developments, location and environmental advantage. At the same time, the development of Yangshan Free zone also puts serious challenges to the Waigaoqiao Free Zone: Firstly, the excellent conditions of Yangshan Free Zone, including the water depth, throughputs, hardware and software equipments, are superior to the Waigaoaiao Free Zone. Secondly, Yangshan Free Zone possesses of a main sea-route close to the international sea-route as a space advantage. As a result, the development of the Waigaoqiao Free Zone in future should take consideration of the coordination with the Fort Yangshan Free Zone's development. While the Yangshan Free Zone is under the development, Waigaoqiao Free Zone should take the full advantage of pre-development, and timely use the great opportunity so that can supplement to and coordinate with the advantages of Yangshan Free Zone.One Body Two Wings is the development framwork established by the State for the layout of the ports in the Changjiang Triangel Region. However, with completion and operation of Yangshan Deep Water Port Phase I Project, war for position is suddenly intensifying among those ports. A direct port war breaks out among Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu with Yangshan, Ningbo and Suzhou as their respective pioneer. In the south, there is integration of two ports (Ningbo and Zhoushan) of Zhejiang, while in the north, thers is Development Along Changjiang strategy of Jiangsu. In our opinion, the ports in the region shall be integrated from competition to cooperation through integration of resources, and concentration of the ports as a group shall be impeded in order to increase the international competition of Shanghai as an international shipment center. Waigaoqiao Free Zone will play an important role in the construction of Shanghai international shipment center.Though Waigaoqiao Free Zone faces significant challenges in development for China's access to WTO as well as development of other economic regions, all-way and open economic development strategy of China also brings new opportunity for the development of Waigaoqiao Free Zone. Especially 15 years after development and opening, Pudong has been established as a trial reformation point of comprehensive trial area from an economic development area. Strategic opportunities create new function location and bring new development for Pudong. All of these bring precious opportunities for the development of Waigaoqiao Free Zone.