The State Council authorized the establishment of the Meishan Island of Beilun as a Free Trade Zone on Feb. 24, according to the news release conference jointly held by Zhejiang provincial government and Ningbo municipal government last week. It is learned the Meishan Island Free Trade Zone will integrate such functions of port operation, logistics and processing and that it will be a special zone enjoying the most preferential policies in China. The Island has a coastline of 22.5 kilometers, including 7 kilometers of deepwater coastline, with the maximum depth of -69 meters. It can receive ultra-large vessels and container ships of the fifth and sixth generations. According to the planning, the Meishan Free Trade Zone will have functions of international transfer, dispatching, purchasing, transit trade and export-oriented processing.
