Shanghai free-trade zone set to expand

China plans to significantly expand the size of a free-trade zone area in Shanghai to include the city's commercial center.

The zone will be enlarged to include the Lujiazui financial district, as well as the nearby Jinqiao and Zhangjiang districts. The total size will increase from 28 square kilometers to 120 square kilometers.

The expansion will allow companies in those areas to take advantage of existing preferential policies for companies in the free trade zone and it fulfils a government commitment to expand the zone once conditions were deemed acceptable.