INTERCITY HIGH-SPEED: The CRH6F, an intercity high-speed train with speed reaching 160 km/h, is on a test run in Qingdao, Shandong Province on July 3 (LI ZIHENG)

City Aid Plan

Central Government spending on transfer payments given to resource-exhausted cities will amount to 16.8 billion yuan ($2.72 billion) in 2013, an increase of 5 percent, said the Ministry of Finance on July 3.

Northeast China's Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jilin provinces are the top three beneficiaries, with 2.04 billion yuan ($332.7 million) going to Heilongjiang, 1.64 billion yuan ($267.5 million) to Liaoning and 1.53 billion yuan ($249.5 million) to Jilin.

The arrangement depends mainly on the conditions of resource exhaustion, the local non-agricultural population, a province's fiscal power and a city's financial situation, according to the ministry.

The money will flow to local ecological management programs, municipal infrastructure construction and social security sectors.

The transfer payment was initiated in 2007 by the Central Government to advance city transformations nationwide. A total of 69 cities have been brought into its scope since then.

Free Trade Zone

The State Council approved Shanghai's free trade zone project on July 3, which will catapult the city to the forefront of global logistics centers.

The project, mapped out at the start of this year, is the first of its kind in China.

When completed, the Shanghai free trade zone will provide world-class transport and communications facilities and a tax-free environment for domestic and foreign enterprises as a major hub of their supply chains in Asia.

The zone, occupying 28 square km, will take more than 10 years to build. It will center on the Yangshan Deep Water Port and include the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Yangshan Free Trade Port Area and Pudong Airport Comprehensive Free Trade Zone.