Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone boosts foreign trade, innovation

By giving full play to its advantages as a transportation hub and pioneering various institutional innovations, the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone has played an important role in stabilizing foreign trade over the past few years.

The zone is part of the Lin-gang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Data from the local administrative committee showed that Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone achieved over 211 billion yuan ($29.6 billion) in imports and exports in the first seven months of the year, up 32 percent from a year earlier and 28.5 percent higher than the national average during the same period.

The import and export value of bonded maintenance spiked 31 percent year-on-year to 27.8 billion in the first seven months, ranking second nationwide.

Meanwhile, foreign investment in the zone exceeded $400 million from January to July, surging by 101 percent on a yearly basis.

According to the zone's plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), it aims to become a demonstration area for new types of trade. As a result, innovative business models such as linking the spot and futures markets, as well as bonded delivery, have been trialed here, helping companies navigate changes in the global market, said Lin Yisong, head of the comprehensive bonded zone department for the Lin-gang administrative committee.

"For example, the international copper market has experienced drastic price fluctuations since the beginning of this year. The Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone, which has linked the London Metal Exchange, the Shanghai Futures Exchange's international copper product, and the domestic copper spot markets, has provided much support for enterprises to efficiently cope with price fluctuations and mitigate risks," he said.

As a result, the zone achieved sales of goods exceeding 576.6 billion yuan in the first seven months, a year-on-year increase of 3.3 percent.

Efforts have been made to better connect domestic companies’ overseas warehouses with international distribution centers, while also enabling quick responses to tariff adjustments and other policy changes in the global market.

For instance, Shanghai's South Port imported 38,573 cars in the first seven months, up 18 percent year-on-year. The number of exported cars spiked 30 percent year-on-year to 315,640 during the same period.

In response to global demand for green and low-carbon transformation in the shipping industry, the Yangshan Comprehensive Bonded Zone has expanded innovative businesses, such as bonded liquefied natural gas, green methanol, biofuel oil, and ultra-low sulfur fuel bunkering.

From January to July this year, bonded LNG bunker supply reached 431,600 cubic meters, ranking third globally, while methanol bunkering exceeded 30,000 tons, ranking second worldwide.

Digital transformation is also a major highlight of the zone's innovative services. In November, the digital platform for ship services officially launched, enabling the full-process digitalization of ship fuel bunkering and significantly improving efficiency and reliability.

It is estimated that the digital platform can reduce the empty sailing rate of oil ships by 30 percent if fully implemented, saving over 100,000 hours of queuing time at the Shanghai Port annually.