Nantong Economic Technological Development Area (NETDA) Free Trade Zone Area B, several gold-filled characters at the entrance glistened in the warm winter sun on the morning of Dec 27, 2013.

A container car slowly passed the supervision checkpoint. Three high definition cameras at the checkpoint relayed real-time information. In the monitoring room, a big screen displayed a clear image of the front, back and chassis of the container car. The system automatically let it pass after checking its data.

This was an exercise scene from the NETDA Free Trade Zone (Phase One) on its first day of operation. On that day, a joint inspection group visited the zone. The group consisted of representatives from the State General Administration of Customs; the National Development and Reform Commission; the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Land and Resources; the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development; the Department of Commerce; the State Administration of Taxation; the State Administration for Industry and Commerce; the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine; and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The joint inspection group checked and approved the NETDA Free Trade Zone (Phase One).

After debriefing and site inspection, the 10 ministries and commissions co-signed the review comments and approved the NETDA Free Trade Zone (Phase One), which covers 1.77 square km. The NETDA Free Trade Zone (Phase One) has now formally started operations.