Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, whose establishment was approved by the State Council in June 1990, is the earliest and largest Free Trade Zone in China, integrating such economic functions as free trade, export processing, logistics and warehousing, and duty-free commodities exhibition and trading. It occupies an area of 10 square kilometers, 6.4 square kilometers of which have been developed.

After a decade’s worth of development, as of the end of 2000, the Free Trade Zone had approved a total of 4,383 investment projects and attracted a total investment of USD5.351 billion from 58 countries and regions across the world.