Tianjin Free Trade Zone is furthering its measures of reform, which has improved its appeal to foreign companies.

The zone's administrative committee has cut the number of items on its negative list to 37 from 122 and put in place 30 measures about financial reform to better facilitate trade and promote financial innovation, according to the Binhai Times.

It has introduced more than 100 measures about trade, which have cut the time clearance needs to 32 hours, and the cost of import and export compliance has fallen by 61.7 percent and 19.9 percent respectively.

From January to August, 190 foreign companies were registered in the zone, and the actual utilized foreign capital totaled $1.45 billion.

The zone was the first of its kind in the country to launch a blockchain-based verification system.

By the end of August, newly opened banking accounts reached 75,000. Cross-border yuan trade settlement totaled 394.62 billion yuan, accounting for 43 percent of the total in Tianjin.

The zone is also promoting its legal environment. Tianjin Supreme People's Court has set up an intermediate court and an intellectual property tribunal in the zone. Its procuratorate as well as arbitration centers of different kinds have been put in place for a while.