State Council approves new zone in Nansha

The central government has approved a plan to launch a new State-level development zone in Nansha district of Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, the country's top planner announced Tuesday, in a move aimed at revitalizing the local economy.

The plan is the latest in a series of measures China is taking to boost its GDP amid a domestic and global economic slowdown, analysts said.

The State Council, the country's cabinet, has approved a plan to turn the Nansha New Area into the sixth State-level new zone, the National Development and Reform Commission announced on its website Tuesday.

The zone will be developed into a comprehensive service hub and pilot area focusing on manufacturing service industry and aimed at promoting the economic restructuring of the Pearl River Delta region, it said.

The announcement does not provide details of the plan for the new zone.

A spokeswoman at the Administrative Committee of the Nansha New Area surnamed Yang declined to reveal details of the plan and said a press conference will be held soon to publicize the plan.

Existing enterprises located in the area mainly specialize in advanced manufacturing, financial services, trade and high-tech industries. The focus of the zone's development will be adjusted in the future after it becomes a State-level new zone, Tang Bin, a staff member at Nansha Investment Service Promotion Center, told the Global Times.

Nansha district is located in the southern part of Guangzhou and in the center of the Pearl River Delta, with rich shoreline resources and a deepwater port. It is 38 nautical miles away from Hong Kong, and 41 nautical miles from Macao.

As a State-level new development zone, the Nansha New Area is expected to enjoy a series of preferential policies including tax reduction.

After the news about the plan to grant the area a new status was released early this month, many enterprises have rushed to discuss potential investment projects.

"At an investment promotion conference held in Guangzhou last week, a host of enterprises, especially central government-administered enterprises, showed strong interest in the Nansha New Area," Wang Yuqin, an official at Guangzhou Economic and Trade Commission, told the Global Times.

The area could serve as a service platform for cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao and enterprises wanted to capitalize on the opportunities, but so far they are still at the negotiating phase, she said.

"Nansha's development should have specific positioning to avoid overlap with other development zones in the province such as Qianhai financial service zone in Shenzhen and Hengqin development zone in Zhuhai," Yu Fugong, director of the Research Department of Economics at the Party School of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, told the Global Times.

"It should focus on industries in which the city has advantages such as logistics," he said.

China approved Lanzhou New Area in Northwest China's Gansu Province late last month as the fifth State-level new zone following Pudong New Area of Shanghai, Binhai New Area of Tianjin, Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing and Zhoushan Island New Area of Zhejiang.