China's Nansha District Hopes to Build Free Trade Zone Without Certificate Submission Requirements

China’s Nansha District, located in the Guangdong province, recently announced a three-year plan to improve its business environment, which features a “free trade zone requiring no certificates,” according to a May 13 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Currently, companies operating in the zone must submit “numerous certificates,” but the changes will allow companies to skip submissions of certificates, “data enquiries” and other administrative “verification” performed by the government. The government will instead use “data-sharing platforms” to “complete administrative procedures without requiring applicants to submit different certificates,” the report said.