(Yicai) Aug. 21 -- Shanghai has issued new policies to further support the development of Lingang Special Area on the fourth anniversary of the special economic area being set up in the city’s free trade zone.

The new policies comprise 29 measures across six fields, the Shanghai government said at a press conference, with the aim of consolidating Lingang’s special functions, creating a more attractive environment for talent, boosting the supply of funding and land, promoting the clustering and development of cutting-edge industries, supporting the innovative development of trade in services, and improving its urban service function.

Founded in August 2019, Lingang Special Area’s gross domestic product has averaged annual growth of 21 percent, with the output value of its industrial firms with annual revenues of at least CNY20 million (USD2.8 million) rose 52 percent in the first half from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the area’s domestic fixed assets investment jumped 57 percent, foreign trade climbed 55 percent, and tax revenue increased 48 percent.

More than 57,800 people settled in Lingang Special Area, with 19,170 of them joining in the first seven months of the year, an increase of 74 percent from a year earlier.

Lingang New Area was envisioned as an important base for international innovative through domestic and overseas talent working together, a key hub for the coordinated development of onshore and offshore businesses, a vital springboard for firms to develop and go global, a crucial access to domestic and international markets and resources, a testing ground for participation in international economic governance, innovation, and lifting the quality of the economy.

Editor: Futura Costaglione