Mayor Yang Xiong said Sunday Shanghai will push for liberalization efforts in the free trade zone and maintain a tight stance over soaring home prices and ensure affordable housing to retain the attractiveness of the city.

"Shanghai is at an important period in transformation and ascent," Yang said at the 25th International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai yesterday. "We need to deepen reforms and innovate the administrative system to overcome the shortfalls in Shanghai's soft power."

Yang said building the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone was an important part of systematic innovation, and the detailed measures of the negative list and financial liberalization trials will be announced and improved gradually. A negative list is considered more open and clearer as it lists what companies cannot do.

"We know people complain that the negative list is too long and not open enough," the mayor said. "As our work progresses, the list will be shortened. Compiling negative list is new to us and a process of learning."

Assessing situations

Regarding financial reforms, including opening capital account, widening cross-border use of the yuan, and liberating interest and exchange rates, Yang said he will raise the issues with the State Council and put forward the measures "after assessing the situation."

Yang said more than 30,000 individuals had sought information and advice from the free trade zone staff. About 8,124 corporate deals were registered.

It was decided yesterday to choose construction of the free trade zone as its theme topic for the next IBLAC, which will be held on November 2, 2014.

Orit Gadiesh, chairman of management consultants Bain & Company Inc, and who is also the chairman of this year's IBLAC, said that even though the details of free trade zone were yet to be specified, it was still likely to attract young talents, who are crucial in the development of Shanghai's soft power.

The zone was officially opened on September 28.

To attract more talents, Shanghai will also keep a tight rein on housing prices, Yang said.

In September, average home prices in Shanghai rose 20.4 percent from the same period of last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said last week.

Property market controls

"We are studying the reason behind the hike in prices but we have never loosened our controls on the property market," Yang said. "We will continue to increase home supply and construction of affordable housing projects."

He said Shanghai will step up management of home sales practices and maintain the controlling measures to limit purchases.

Among other issues aimed at boosting the city's soft power are adding cultural and recreational facilities, transforming the role of the government, improving urban management, and fighting pollution, Yang said.

Priorities will be given in organizing cultural activities, reducing government interference in economy, opening up further to foreign investment, increasing transparency of administrative information, cutting energy consumption and environmental-friendly construction.

Participants also advised Shanghai to build up a brand image to stand out among cosmopolitans.

"We've heard many good advises from international business leaders this time, and we will spend time analyzing and absorbing them," Yang said. "If I were to conclude the image of the city in one sentence, I would say ‘Shanghai is Shanghai!'"