HAIKOU /China/, May 6. /TASS/. The bonded area located in Yangpu Port (Hainan Province, South China) in January - March handled the flow of goods worth 14.3 billion yuan (about $2 billion at current exchange rate). The Hainan Daily newspaper reported, citing official figures, that the figure increased by about 87% compared with the same period last year.
The publication noted that exports of the Yangpu Bonded Port Area increased 12.3 times in the first quarter, while imports rose 58.3%. The key commodities that saw a noticeable increase in shipments to foreign markets included metal and agricultural products. Ore accounted for more than half of the value of the imported commodity nomenclature. The port also actively imported organic synthesis products.
Foreign trade partners, vigorously increasing the turnover with Yangpu, included members states of the One Belt, One Road initiative (for three months the index doubled in annual terms), members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union (more than fourfold growth in both cases).
The Yangpu Bonded Area Development Department commented that local authorities intend to support interested companies, help accelerate the launch of their production facilities, and assist port enterprises engaged in ship repair. Particular attention will be paid to tax exemptions for processing products intended for the domestic market. It is expected that in the foreseeable future even more specialized commercial organizations will register their business on the territory of the special customs zone.
Yangpu is located in Danzhou, administratively subordinate to the provincial government. The port accounts for a significant share of Hainan's foreign trade and investment.
This industrial zone of advanced economic development plays an important role in the development of China's unified, highly efficient transport network; according to the Chinese government's plan, by 2035, Yangpu will become a key point for distributing the flow of cargo from various regions of the country to Southeast Asia and Oceania, Europe and North America. By 2025, it is expected to become a logistics hub of regional importance, with up to 5 million containers passing through it annually.