Port city sets its sights on boosting free-trade zone, deputy mayor says

Plans to transform the northern port city of Tianjin into an international trading hub have taken a major step forward, winning support in principle from the central government, according to the city's deputy mayor.

The favorable policies for the Dongjiang Free-Trade Zone in the eastern part of the city's Binhai New Area will include transit visas, a reduction or exemption in tariffs and streamlined procedures for ships and cargo handling, said Zong Guo-ying, who is also director of the new area and a deputy to the National People's Congress.