China's comprehensive bonded zones promote steady growth of foreign trade

Imports and exports in China's comprehensive bonded zones reached 2.6 trillion yuan ($375.7 billion) in the first 11 months of this year, up 9.4 percent year-on-year. The comprehensive bonded zones have become an engine promoting the steady growth of foreign trade.

There are 140 Special Customs Supervision Zones (SCSZs) in China, including 99 comprehensive bonded areas. In the first eleven months of 2019, imports and exports in China's comprehensive bonded areas were up 9.4 percent year-on-year and 7 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of China's foreign trade.

Among them, exports totaled nearly 1.6 trillion yuan and imports 1.1 trillion yuan, up 4.3 percent and 17.6 percent year-on-year respectively, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.

Comprehensive bonded zones are special customs supervision areas with a high level of opening-up, many preferential policies and the most comprehensive set of functions. Customs authorities across the country are aiming for an international advanced level, streamlining business processes, improving the efficiency of supervision, and continuously improving the business environment and innovation environment.

By giving full play to policy advantages, fostering new business models, and innovating regulatory approaches, China's comprehensive bonded zones have been constantly transforming and upgrading, becoming an engine promoting the steady growth of foreign trade.

Cross-border e-commerce imports and exports are a new highlight in the development of foreign trade in China. Chinese customs authorities have gradually extended the import tax policy for cross-border e-commerce retail to all comprehensive bonded areas and supported innovative enterprises in these areas.

In addition, "when you open your computer, you can go online to declare relevant business data to customs at any time, which greatly reduces the processing time and avoids manual errors. It's really very convenient," said Wang Yong, business manager of a company.