By Xinhua
Tianjin : China’s largest free-trade harbour area, seen as a significant move in the country’s opening up strategy, started operation in the northern port city of Tianjin Tuesday.
Dongjiang Bonded Harbour Area (DBHA), close to capital Beijing and located in the Bohai-rim region, “is designated as the pilot for others to adopt reforms and renovations to promote the opening-up drive,” Li Kenong, deputy chief of China Customs, said at the inauguration ceremony.
The area is set to enjoy the most favourable policies in taxation and foreign exchange policies and offers comprehensive services in international shipping, distribution, purchase, transit trade and export processing businesses following the practices of international hubs, free ports and free trade zones, according to Li.
The first phase of the harbour area, which currently covers four square km and includes warehouses, container terminals, processing and logistics zones, involved a corporate investment of 6.6 billion yuan (nearly $900 million).
The project, which was approved by the state council on Aug 31, last year, is scheduled to become fully operational by 2010 when the second phase of another 6-sq-km area will be completed, realizing a designed capacity of handling four million containers per year.
The bonded area is expected to boost development of Tianjin Binhai New Zone, which has been designated as pilot for many of China’s new economic and financial policies.
The DBHA is the third of its kind in China, following the operation of Shanghai-based Yangshan Bonded Harbor Area in December 2005, and Dayaowan Bonded Harbor Area, located in Dalian, Liaoning Province, in June this year.
The establishment of the fourth — Yangpu Bonded Harbor Area in the country’s southernmost island of Hainan — was approved by the State Council in October.
China has launched 15 free-trade areas since the 1990s, a unique economic development mode at that time.
The bonded harbour areas combine many foreign-oriented functions including free-trade zones, logistic centres and export processing bases, offering more convenient and integrated services in line with international operation modes.