Recently, Lin-gang Special Area of ??China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone ushered in the second anniversary of its inauguration. With the gradual implementation of a “top-level design” items in the Framework Plan for the Lin-gang Special Area of ??China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, high-rise buildings have been built, and the desolate Lin-gang has undergone tremendous changes.

According to the latest data, in the past two years, the Lin-gang Special Area has been guided by the “five important,” and the four beams and eight pillars of the “6+2” policy system have been basically completed. Among the 78 tasks specified in the Framework Plan for the Lin-gang Special Area of ??China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, more than 90% have been or are being implemented. Special economic functions such as offshore and cross-border are gradually realized, with an average of more than 400 companies registering every week, and the beautiful blueprint is gradually turning into reality.

Lin-gang Special Area has already attracted the attention of the world when it was just established. It has been benchmarking against the internationally recognized free trade zones with the strongest competitiveness, and highlighting the “special features” as a special economic function zone with greater influence and competitiveness in the international market, and the visions of “freedom of investment, freedom of trade, freedom of capital, freedom of transportation, and freedom of personnel employment.” It has attracted countless companies and talents to gather here.

In the two years since its establishment, the “Lin-gang advantages” have become increasingly prominent. In August of this year, Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone held 3 events for 3 consecutive days for the collective unveiling projects, and a total of 97 projects were signed, started, completed and launched. At the event, the relevant person announced: “There will be the first 100 billion-level industrial cluster in Lin-gang, the New Energy & Intelligent Vehicles industry. The output of finished vehicles is expected to exceed 600,000 this year, and the annual export of finished vehicles is expected to exceed 100,000.” The fast-gathering automobile industry chain is a microcosm of the rapid development and growth of the industrial clusters in the Lin-gang Special Area. By 2035, Lin-gang will achieve a regional GDP exceeding RMB 1 trillion yuan, equivalent to recreating a Pudong New Area. This goal may sound amazing, but on the fast lane featuring “Lin-gang Speed,” the destination is not out of reach.

In July this year, the Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Supporting High-level Reform and Opening-up of Pudong New Area and Building Pudong into a Pioneer Area for Socialist Modernization (Opinions) was released, giving Pudong major new opportunities in the new era. In Lin-gang, the two national strategies of setting up a special area and creating a pioneer area are superimposed and mutually enhanced, urging Lin-gang people to shoulder the mission of bravely venturing and trying, and promoting the construction and development of the special area to a new level. In the Opinions, Lin-gang Special Area is frequently mentioned: It is necessary to advance the pilot test of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area. To make better use of the Lin-gang Special Area of ??China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone as a “test field,” it is necessary to benchmark the highest standards and levels, implement greater stress testing, and take the lead in achieving breakthroughs in a number of key areas. After the relevant results are qualified, they will be first promoted and implemented the whole area in Pudong...Whether it is to further promote high-level institutional opening, or to build a strong innovation engine and create a new highland of independent innovation, Lin-gang Special Area has an important mission in these strategic positioning and will become the “special forces” among the “vanguards.”

As an important carrier of the national strategy, Lin-gang Special Area has received high support from the city in the past two years. In August of this year, the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government issued the Several Opinions on Supporting the Independent Development, Independent Reform, and Independent Innovation of the Lin-gang Special Area of ??China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. It is worth noting that this document is the 2.0 version of the Several Opinions of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on Promoting the High-quality Development of the Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and Implementing Special Support Policies. It can be seen from the name change of the Several Opinions that since Lin-gang has made a good start, the focus of the next step will be to solve the pain points and blocks concerning policies encountered in the process of reform, innovation and development of the Lin-gang Special Area, give the Lin-gang Special Area greater management authority for independent development, independent reform, and independent innovation, and help Lin-gang Special Area become a“growth pole” and “engine” of the city’s development.

Today, the Internet-famous check-in points in Lin-gang are increasing. Not long ago, the Shanghai Planetarium by the Dishui Lake had just opened, and it quickly became a very popular tourist attraction. In the Action Plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan and Construction of the Lin-gang Special Area, it is proposed that this area will be built into a “glamorous ‘Pearl of the East China Sea’ and a benchmark model for new city construction.” By 2050, the Pudong pioneer area will be built into a “global model of urban governance capabilities and governance effectiveness, and a bright pearl of a modern socialist country.” When shouldering the two important tasks of creating a pioneer area and developing the Lin-gang Special Area, Lingang, as a trailbreaker, will do its best to fulfill its mission.