Yangshan Special Comprehensive Free Trade Zone a nation first
The first batch of 18 new projects are signed at the ceremony on Saturday, witnessing by Shanghai Acting Mayor Gong Zheng.
Shanghai's Yangshan Special Comprehensive Free Trade Zone was granted its certificate and officially launched on Saturday, becoming China's only special comprehensive bonded zone.
The first batch of 18 new projects were signed at the ceremony, including China Baowu Steel Group's raw material procurement services, Shanghai International Port Group's collection and distribution center, Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co's supply chain project, and Danish integrated shipping company Maersk's Asia-Pacific distribution center project.
Since the State Council approved the establishment of Yangshan Special Comprehensive FTZ on January 17, 2020, the General Administration of Customs had earnestly guided Shanghai authorities in the planning and construction of the area.
On May 12, the General Administration of Customs, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Taxation, the General Administration of Market Supervision, and the Foreign Exchange Bureau, inspected and accepted the Yangshan Special Comprehensive FTZ.
The Yangshan FTZ, as the only special comprehensive bonded zone in China, undertakes the important mission of pushing forward all-round high-level opening up in a deeper, broader and more vigorous manner, said Li Guo, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Customs of China.
The area is located in the southeast corner of Shanghai, with an overall planned area of 25.31 square kilometers. It is composed of Luchao port area, Xiaoyangshan island area and the southern area of Pudong Airport. Among them, Luchao port area covers 7.99 square kilometers, Xiaoyangshan area is 9.46 square kilometers and the southern area of Pudong Airport is 7.86 square kilometers.
The designed area in Phase One occupies 14.27 square kilometers. It covers the main industrial activity areas that have already been in operation within the planned area of Yangshan Special Comprehensive FTZ.
The enclosed operation within the scope of the Phase One area can be conducive to the implementation of special regulatory measures for the zone as soon as possible, said Shanghai Vice Mayor Chen Yin. It will provide a more internationally competitive regulatory system environment and preferential policy support for enterprises in the zone.
Chen also noted that it is of great significance for enterprises to better cope with the adverse effects brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to turn the crisis into an opportunity to improve their competitiveness in international markets.
"In the next step, we will accelerate the promotion of function cultivation, industrial agglomeration, facilities upgrading, system innovation, and build the most competitive special customs supervision area in the international market," Chen said.
For example, Shanghai authorities will soon issue the development plan and corresponding supportive policies for industries in the special zone, aiming to further accelerate the industrial and functional conglomeration.
Meanwhile, the area will make efforts to build a high-standard intelligent port and waterway infrastructure system, among which, Yangshan Phase IV automated terminal will raise its throughput capacity from the current more than 3 million twenty-foot equivalent units to 6.3 million TEU.
The area will also fully carry out the policies and systems specified in the overall plan of the Lingang area, as well as the 50 special supportive policies on promoting high-quality development and various industrial policies issued by the administrative committee of the Lingang Special Area.
