Shanghai has been assigned the task of building a new Asian financial hub, starting with trials in its free trade zone. The government will test the yuan's full convertibility in the zone. The Shanghai free trade zone recorded 226 trillion US dollars worth of financial transactions in 2015, more than triple that of five years ago.

Tianjin is taking advantage of its proximity to Beijing. The government has set up 10 non-port trade hubs for the city to run trials on low-cost customs clearances. So far, the trials have reduced trade companies' logistics costs by a third. 

The Fujian free trade zone is designed to be a major gateway for trade between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. The Guangdong free trade zone is expected to bring more businesses from Hong Kong and Macao to the province. HSBC Hong Kong and the Shenzhen Qianhai financial zone set up a joint venture securities firm in 2015. HSBC Hong Kong has a majority stake in the firm, which is the first such case in China.