China has officially announced the launch of its fourth state-level new area--the Zhoushan Islands New Area.

Located at almost the midpoint of China’s eastern coastline, Zhoushan consists of 1390 islands and is China’s largest archipelogo. Zhoushan Islands New Area is the first marine-themed strategic regional plan in China.

The newly released plan by the China’s State council highlights the importance the country is placing on its marine based economy, aiming to develop the area later into a free trade zone.

According to the plan, Zhoushan will build services for an international commodity center including storage, transportation, processing, and trading. China’s three other new areas are -- Pudong in Shanghai, Binhai in Tianjin and Liangjiang in Chongqing.