HAIKOU, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Zero-tariff imports at the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) surged 120 percent year on year to nearly 2.65 billion yuan (about 388 million U.S. dollars) between the launch of island-wide special customs operations and May 31, local authorities said Wednesday.
Domestic sales under the import tariff exemption policy for products with no less than 30-percent added value after processing reached 580 million yuan during the five-and-a-half-month period, saving companies about 30.25 million yuan in tariffs, according to data from the Office of the Free Trade Port Working Committee of the Communist Party of China Hainan Provincial Committee and Haikou Customs.
China launched island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan FTP on Dec. 18. The policy features "freer access at the first line" for trade between Hainan and areas outside China's customs borders, and "regulated access at the second line," where standard customs rules apply to goods moving from Hainan to the mainland.
Wang Fengli, deputy director of the office, said that in the six months since the island-wide special customs operations were launched, policy dividends have been released at an accelerated pace.
The "first line" imported zero-tariff policy has continued to expand its coverage and enhance its effectiveness over the period. As a core open port, Yangpu Port in the Hainan FTP has seen its imported commodity categories expand from traditional large-scale production equipment to diverse raw and auxiliary materials and precision components, among others, facilitating the diversified development of the entire industrial chain.
At the "second line," the import tariff exemption policy for products with no less than 30-percent added value after processing has been extended to deeper levels of the industrial chain, covering key sectors such as food processing, bio-medicine and natural rubber. This has propelled the industrial landscape from isolated pilot projects to cluster development, with a growing number of enterprises establishing Hainan as a "frontier processing base" for the Chinese mainland market.
Haikou Customs has also enhanced customs clearance facilitation through institutional innovation, implementing a "direct release" mechanism for eligible zero-tariff and bonded goods. The number of declaration items on customs manifests has been reduced from 105 to 33. A total of 70,000 tonnes of imported goods have been cleared under the mechanism, with the average customs clearance time for imported goods cut by 20 percent.
Currently, the 10 "second-line" ports are reported to be operating smoothly, with the declaration items for outbound island shipments streamlined by over 60 percent.
According to statistics, from Dec. 18 to May 31, Hainan's goods trade import and export volume reached 173.98 billion yuan, up 54.6 percent year on year. A total of 10,325 new enterprises were registered with customs, an increase of 57.8 percent. Meanwhile, offshore duty-free shopping rose 20.5 percent to 20.34 billion yuan.
Local authorities said that Hainan will actively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, continuously improve the policy and institutional systems of the FTP, steadily advance reforms in key areas, and progressively expand institutional opening up. ■
