China has officially expanded its reform pilot projects to the northern frontier with the approval of the Inner Mongolia Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ). The region will serve as a connectivity hub for the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor and a new cluster for emerging strategic sectors.

Last month, China's State Council announced that it will create a free trade pilot zone in Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, an area that has been the source of tensions between China and the West, and turn the region into a trade hub. The official document was published yesterday,