To help the county of Pingtan in its development and opening up, the Fujian provincial government reached a decision at a meeting, on July 25, to grant the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone special administrative authority.

The voting was done at the 4th session of the Standing Committee of the 12th provincial congress, on Thursday.

Pingtan is a pilot zone with central government approval for cross-Straits communication and cooperation, while a Pingtan administrative committee is the resident authority, with Fujian provincial government approval.

It has the same administrative rights as a city above the district level. Pingtan will also have special administrative privileges with central and provincial government authorization.

One of the committee's administrative privileges is to test innovative policies on cross-Straits relations, giving it legal authority and jurisdiction over Haitan Island and other islets.

The committee could explore different administrative modes and improve administrative efficiency, according to the government decision.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Roger Bradshaw