HAIKOU, June 9. /TASS/. The Chinese authorities approved a new set of measures to gradually abolish a wide range of taxes and duties, as well as optimize commercial activities and foreign trade control in the important international container port of Yangpu on Hainan's western coast, the local administration announced.
According to the statement, in accordance with the decision of the central government, a logistics zone with a special tax and customs regime located in Yangpu will in the near future lift many restrictions hindering Hainan's development. "On the one hand, we are going to apply strategic measures to increase openness [including the elimination of foreign trade barriers], and on the other hand, we will toughen control," said Deputy Minister of Commerce, Deputy Representative of the People's Republic of China at international trade negotiations Wang Shouwen.
According to Li Guo, deputy head of the General Administration of Customs, the development of the Yangpu special zone is the number one task among 18 key projects that the government plans to implement in accordance with the comprehensive free trade port strategy. The authorities will test new mechanisms at this important transport hub, which will gradually begin to operate on the entire island.
"Here we will apply for the first time a number of measures aimed at simplifying trade procedures. Their successful implementation will be of great strategic importance for the whole Island of Hainan," explained the official.
The official emphasized that lifting the ban on placing commercial facilities in the bonded area of Yangpu would become a “powerful breakthrough,” since until recently their existence in similar special customs areas was prohibited by the Chinese law. Now companies will be able to deal with the transshipment, picking and storage of international goods, the processing of semi-finished products, the production, distribution, repair and testing of goods, exhibition activities, and they will also be able to get major trade deals and conduct research.
Earlier, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Сhinese State Council published the “General Program for the Establishment of a Free Port on Hainan,” according to which the island’s administration intends to create an effective system to fulfill a number of important social and economic goals by 2025, and within 10 years to decisively enhance the innovative mechanisms for the region's development.