Caofeidian Harbor mainly serves Shougang Group, now in Tangshan, Hebei province. The harbor is connected to four main freight railway lines that link Northeast China, North China and western China. for CHINA DAILY

If size matters, Hebei district will win, but minuses loom very large

The Caofeidian industrial park of Tangshan city in Hebei province applied to the State Council in late February to set up a free trade zone, the local administration confirmed to the Information Daily newspaper on Tuesday.

If the plan is approved, the Caofeidian FTZ will become a new platform for the coastal province of Hebei to further open up to the world, local officials said.

Shanghai FTZ sees more liberalization

Building Bohai Bay economic zone a challenge: Official

According to Liu Zhuangsheng, vice-director of the Caofeidian Administration Commission, the FTZ would work off the operational model of Zhoushan Islands' new district in Zhejiang serving the Yangtze River Delta, and become a distribution center of import-export commodities for the region around Bohai Bay.

"As the integrated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei speeds up, the market will gradually recognize Caofeidian's geographical importance and economic potential," Liu said.

Caofeidian, located 220 kilometers east of Beijing, consists of a 16 square kilometer peninsula formed by a 4 sq km islet and a broad land passage reclaimed from the sea in 2000 for the use of Shougang Group, the huge iron- and steelworks that was moved from Beijing to cut pollution for the 2008 Olympics.

The peninsula, which is suitable for building deepwater ports, is connected to four main freight railway lines that link Northeast China, North China and western China.

The Shanghai FTZ's establishment last year stiffened the Caofeidian administration's resolve to apply for a zone. To prepare its application, the local government invited a research team from the Commerce Ministry to visit on Oct 9 last year, 10 days after the Shanghai FTZ was launched.

Li Guanghui, team leader, concluded that geographical advantage, harbors, mineral resources, industrial base and efficient administration are the five strengths of Caofeidian.

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