The Harbin Area of the China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Harbin FTZ) was recently granted 537 items of municipal-level economic and social management authority.
 
The move aimed to deepen the reform of the Harbin FTZ, advance opening-up, and facilitate investment and trade liberalization.
 
According to the announcement by the Harbin municipal government, among the granted authority items are 161 administrative licenses, 62 administrative confirmations, 11 administrative awards, 147 administrative penalties, seven administrative levies, 53 administrative regulations and inspections, and 82 items in other categories.
 
As one of three areas comprising the Heilongjiang Free Trade Zone, the Harbin FTZ was approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Aug 26, 2019.
 
It is located in the Harbin New Zone in Harbin, capital city of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province and has a planned area of 79.86 square kilometers.
 
The Harbin FTZ strives to become a hub for wide-ranging commerce between Russia and Northeast Asia, a national logistics hub connecting domestic and Eurasian regions and a growth springboard and demonstration zone for the full-scale revitalization of the northeast region.