Shanghai's neighbours look for upside to free-trade zone
Public talk of regional co-operation belies unease about outflow of capital
What's in it for me? That must be the question foremost on the minds of Zhejiang and Jiangsu officials when asked about the Shanghai free-trade zone.
The eastern metropolis became the envy of the nation when the State Council gave it the go-ahead in July to develop the mainland's first-ever Hong Kong-style free port, a test bed for further dramatic reforms.
The free-trade zone, albeit without expected details on how the yuan would be made fully convertible within its bounds, weighed on other government officials in the Yangtze River Delta who believed the central government did not do right by them.
The groundbreaking zone would strengthen Shanghai's role as the economic engine of the delta at the expense of its neighbours. Over the past decade, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been locked in a fierce battle with Shanghai to lure investment from elsewhere in the country and overseas.
During a seminar earlier this year in Hangzhou , the provincial capital of Zhejiang, local officials expressed their concern that establishing the Shanghai zone might cause capital flight to the national financial centre.
Not surprisingly, Shanghai leaders have done everything they can to ease any fears among their delta counterparts, including holding face-to-face talks. On Wednesday, top bosses from Anhui , Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang gathered in Nanjing to discuss a joint development plan for the delta economy.
Officials in attendance, including Shanghai Communist Party boss Han Zheng , agreed to "join hands" while drawing up a pilot scheme for the free-trade zone and share the benefits from any future reforms. More importantly, they reached a consensus to accelerate efforts to help expand the free-trade zone to other qualified areas in the delta.