The China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) has attracted 100,000 enterprises to settle, marking a 28-fold increase from before its inception five years ago, according to the regional department of commerce in August.
Established in 2019, the pilot FTZ in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region aims to to promote the country's opening up to ASEAN and to pilot new mechanisms in China-ASEAN cooperation.
The FTZ comprises the Nanning area in the region's capital city, the Qinzhou Port area along the coast and the Chongzuo area bordering Vietnam.
So far, the zone has successfully implemented all 120 pilot projects assigned by the country and has replicated and promoted 169 regional-level innovations across the region.
The FTZ is set to leverage its geographic proximity to ASEAN countries, contribute to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in western China, and serve as a key link between the Maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road Economic Belt.
Since the establishment of the first pilot FTZ in Shanghai in 2013, China has established a total of 21 FTZs, as well as the Hainan Free Trade Port. Located from coastal areas to inland regions and border provinces, these FTZs have become pacesetters for the country's high-standard reform and opening-up endeavors.
Over 100,000 enterprises settled in Guangxi's pilot free trade zone
U.S. stocks ended lower while Asian shares gained after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a 0.5-percentage-point interest rate cut on Wednesday.
U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday after the Fed's rate cut. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 103.08 points, or 0.25 percent, to 41,503.1. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 54.76 points, or 0.31 percent, to 17,573.3. The S and P 500 sank 16.32 points, or 0.29 percent, to 5,618.26.
In Chinese security markets, A-share investors were more receptive to the Fed's rate, hoping it might lead to a similar move by the People's Bank of China. The Shanghai Composite Index gained almost 0.7 percent on Thursday, while the Shenzhen Component Index surged by about 1.2 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index climbed 2 percent on Thursday.
Japan's Nikkei rose by 2.13 percent on Thursday, while in South Korea, the Kospi turned positive with a modest gain of 0.17 percent.
The U.S. Fed cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday, bringing the benchmark interest rate to a range of 4.75 percent to 5 percent, the first rate cut in four years.
In its policy statement, the Fed said the decision reflected greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent and that it judges the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance.
In addition to the U.S. Federal Reserve, multiple central banks and monetary authorities have either decided or will announce their interest rate decisions on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Central Bank of Brazil moved in the opposite direction to the Fed on Wednesday, raising interest rates by 25 basis points to 10.75 percent. It was the first interest rate hike in two years to tackle emerging inflation risks.
On Thursday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority slashed its base rate by 50 basis points to 5.25 percent.
Norway's central bank, Norges Bank, has kept the policy rate at 4.5 percent as policymakers agreed a restrictive monetary policy is still needed to bring inflation down to target.
The Bank of England is set to announce its interest rate decision on Thursday. The market expects policymakers to hold rates steady amid persisting inflation pressure.
That is also the case for the Central Bank of Türkiye as it awaits further evidence of an improvement in inflation.
The South Africa Reserve Bank is expected to cut rates for the first time in four years as inflation in August fell to its lowest in more than three years.
Wall Street reacts coldly while Asian shares gain after Fed rate cut
