Nansha Free Trade Zone in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, has become a new engine of economic growth.

China (Guangdong) Free Trade Zone [Photo provided by Nansha district publicity department]

Li Zigen, deputy director-general of the Administrative Committee which oversees the free trade zone, told a news briefing on August 6 of the measures that have been taken since the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone was inaugurated. The Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone consists of three areas located in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai.

Li said that Nansha free trade zone has achieved substantial progress, thanks to more open policies on business registration, customs, taxation and transportation between Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Nansha Bay in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province [Photo provided by Nansha district publicity department]

In the first half of this year, he said, the gross domestic product of the Nansha district reached 51.79 billion yuan ($8.33 billion), growing 14.1 percent, highest among all the districts of Guangzhou. This is outstanding against the background of weak regional growth.

In the same period, 77 new foreign enterprises were registered, more than twice as many in the same period last year. Fixed assets investment was 21.63 billion yuan, a rise of 216.29 percent. Total foreign trade value was $11.66 billion, up 35 percent, while exports hit nearly $8 billion, a sharp increase of 90.2 percent.

Rendering of Nansha cruise port [Photo provided by Nansha district publicity department]