China's state council has approved a plan for Tianjin's free trade zone to go into full swing. The plan will complement Shanghai's free trade zone, with its focuses on financing and leasing sectors and a key emphasis on high-end manufacturing.

China is fast capitalizing on its experiences with the Shanghai free trade zone. Sixty-nine lend and leasing firms set up booths in Tianjin's Dongjiang Port area at the start of the year to test a more effective system in the port city's FTZ. Tianjin hosts nearly 900 leasing companies, accounting for a quarter of the businesses in that sector in China. 90 percent of aeroplane leases come from Tianjin as well.

"Nearly 8 billion US dollars worth of aeroplane leasing, and its cross-border settlements, and financing arrangements happen in the Dong Jiang Bonded Port Area," says Li Hui, deputy director of Tianjin Dongjiang International Shipping & Finance Center.

The Tianjin FTZ will also develop the high-end manufacturing sector, as the city has already established a solid foundation of ship building, marine equipment, and biomedical research.

"We will promote development of the real economy through financial reform and innovation. This involves reducing borrowing costs, and improving liquidity flow for foreign direct investment," says Jiang Guangjian, deputy director of Tainjin Commission if Commerce.

The Tianjin FTZ will build services linked with consumption and shopping, cultural products and medical services. It will also allow sales of imported foreign made cars that have been traded under the table and are considered gray areas in China.

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