--FILE--View at sunset of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, left, the Shanghai Tower under Construction, right, and other skyscrapers and high-rise buildings in the Lujiazui Financial District in Pudong, Shanghai, China, 30 April 2013. In a move underlining the leading role Shanghai will play in the countrys economic future, the cabinet has formally endorsed the citys plan to open the mainlands first free-trade zone. The free port will be a testing ground for major policy reforms to free up cross-border commodity and capital flows, areas in which it threatens to eclipse Hong Kongs traditional contribution to the national economy. The State Council said in a statement after a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang that the free-trade zone would be a snapshot of an upgraded Chinese economy. Economists said the plan, aimed at eventually creating a mini-Hong Kong in the mainlands commercial hub, would benefit Shanghai as the city sought new engines to revive its slowing economic growth. Initially, Shanghai will upgrade and expand its existing four bonded areas, where goods can be imported, processed and re-exported without the intervention of customs authorities.
