{"id":8563,"date":"2021-09-21T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T07:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=8563"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:50:19","slug":"understanding-the-greater-bay-areas-free-trade-zones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/understanding-the-greater-bay-areas-free-trade-zones\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the Greater Bay Area’s free trade zones"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is the difference between a state-level new area, a special economic zone, a development zone, a high-tech zone, and a free trade zone? Greater Bay Insights explains<\/h2>\n

The Greater Bay Area (the area linking Hong Kong, Macau, and nine cities in mainland China around the Pearl River Delta including Guangdong and Shenzhen) was conceived as an integrated economic and commercial hub, designed to make doing business in the region easier.<\/p>\n

While the GBA\u2019s various free trade and high-tech zones do make it an attractive place to do business, understanding which preferential policies each one offers and which one is right for your business can be confusing. This article offers a brief explanation of each of the types of zones found in the GBA. However, it is worth noting that these definitions and the areas they apply to are subject to frequent change, so it is always best to check with an expert before embarking on a project in the GBA.<\/p>\n

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State-level new area <\/strong>\u56fd\u5bb6\u7ea7\u65b0\u533a<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This is an urban area that has been given an \u201cadministrative readjustment\u201d by the central government and receives preferential policies and privileges granted directly by the State Council. A new area is fairly small, geographically speaking, usually a designated district in a city. Through the establishment of a new area, the central government is signalling that it wants to drive the economic development of that particular area, alter its development trend and ultimately create a rippling economic impact.<\/p>\n

China currently has 19 state-level new areas. In the Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou\u2019s Nansha and Zhuhai\u2019s Hengqin are New Areas. Others around the country include Shanghai\u2019s Pudong New Area and Xiong\u2019an in Hebei province, the newest, established in 2017.<\/p>\n