The Lin-gang Special Area – located in East China's Shanghai – ranked in the top 5 in national FTZ institutional innovation, according to the "2022-2023 China Pilot Free Trade Zone Institutional Innovation Index".

The results were recently released by the Institute of Free Trade Zones, Sun Yat-sen University.

The index measured the institutional innovation of the 54 free trade zones in China. According to the data, the average overall score of the institutional innovation index was 78.03 points.

Guangdong Qianhai, Shanghai (Pudong) and Guangdong Nansha ranked as the top three – with Shanghai (Lin-gang Special Area), Tianjin, Beijing, Xiamen in Fujian, Chengdu in Sichuan, Wuhan in Hubei and Chongqing entering the top 10.

Li Shanmin, former vice president of Sun Yat-sen University, said that China's Pilot Free Trade Zones had seen significant growth in the past decade, with more areas joining and using the zones as platforms for early pilot programs and high-quality development.

The 2022-2023 China Pilot Free Trade Zone Institutional Innovation Index included five primary indicators, 19 secondary indicators and 57 tertiary indicators, assessing the 54 Pilot FTZs across the country.

The index considers factors such as trade facilitation, investment liberalization, financial reforms and innovation, the transformation of government functions and the environment for the rule of law.

The evaluation and measurement process relies on the institute's literature database on Pilot Free Trade Zones, materials reported by the zones themselves, field visits and research and advice from an expert advisory committee.