China will set up seven more free trade zones: Xinhua

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will set up seven new free trade zones (FTZs), bringing the total to 11, the Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

The new zones will be in Liaoning, Zhejiang, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Chongqing, Xinhua said.

China set up the first free trade zone in Shanghai in 2013, and followed up with zones in Guangdong, Fujian, and Tianjin in 2014.

No time frame for opening the new zones was given.

"The decision to expand the FTZs shows authorities' strong resolution in advancing reforms and opening up," Xinhua quoted Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng as saying.

A government think-tank on Tuesday called for caution in opening the capital account at the Shanghai free trade zone as "large-scale short-term capital outflows could hit China's financial system and the real economy".

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Writing by Elias Glenn; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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