The State Council granted bonded port status to Chongqing and Zhangjiagang in December, joining Yangshan Terminal in Shanghai as the three bonded areas along the Yangtze River.
The 4.1 sq km Zhangjiagang Bonded Area covers the existing bonded area and the bonded logistics park. The decision to grant Chongqing bonded port status is part of an effort to boost the opening and development of central and western regions. The 8.37 sq km Cuntan Bonded Area encompasses Cuntan Terminal and Jiangbei International Airport. Construction will be completed in 2015.
Bao Zichuan, chairman of Chongqing Bonded Area Development Company, said the bonded area would focus on port business, air transport, foreign trade and export-oriented processing. Enterprises in bonded areas enjoy various preferential tax policies.
So far, China has established 12 bonded terminals. All cargo leaving the bonded area for the domestic market are treated as imports and are therefore to be customs-cleared and taxed accordingly; all domestic cargo entering the area are treated as exports and are therefore tax-refunded; and transactions between companies within the bonded area are exempt from value–added tax and consumption duty.
Since June 2005 when Yangshan became China’s first bonded terminal, the number has risen to 12 countrywide. They are nearest thing in China to a truly free port.