Shanghai's Pudong New Area will seek more breakthroughs in terms of institutional reform and opening-up to fulfill its role as a pioneer of China's socialist modernization, a senior municipal official said at a press conference on March 28.

Gu Jun, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Municipal Government and director of the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, made the remarks at a press conference organized by the State Council Information Office, themed "Promoting High-Quality Development".

Pushing forward the pilot comprehensive reform in Pudong New Area is a major move to deepen high-level reform and opening-up, Gu said.

"Since last year, Shanghai has marshaled resources citywide to implement Pudong's pilot comprehensive reform, which has yielded a steady stream of landmark institutional innovation outcomes," Gu said.

Such reforms included the nationwide debut of international maritime freight index futures trading and the introduction of a system for temporary practice permits for overseas professionals. Pudong has also crafted 18 region-specific regulations and policies, 23 administrative measures, and two local laws over the past year.

Going forward, Pudong will strive for higher-level institutional opening up by formulating and implementing its special management measures for relaxing market access, steadily advancing sector openings, piloting reforms like the copyright registration system, and accelerating the building of a model zone for institutional opening-up, Gu said.

The district will also continue to work with the Shanghai People's Congress and its Standing Committee to formulate six new regulations within this year in areas like free trade accounts, commercial mediation, and enterprise compliance reforms, Gu added.