China has 110 customs supervised areas with special free trade rights

AS of November 2012, China has set up or given approval to set up a total of 110 customs supervised zones 27 cities, said Zhen Pu, chairman of China Free Trade Zone and Export Processing Zone Association.

Mr Zhen said that even in 2012, when foreign trade is slack due to economic downturn, these facilities were seeing their business thrive with collective full-year trade value expected to rise US$560 billion, taking up 16 per cent of China's total trade value.

Customs supervised zone refers to a facility approved by the China State Council to set up inside China that is supervised by the customs with a closed area and enjoys favourable policies.

Mr Zhen said, since the first bonded zone was set up in China in 1990, the number of customs supervised area has risen to 110, including 12 bonded areas, 47 export processing zones, five bonded logistics parks, 14 bonded port areas, 30 integrated bonded zones, two cross-border industrial parks. Seventy-eight of these them are in the eastern coastal region, 32 are in the hinterland.

According to Mr Zhen, these businesses are rising against the downward trend in trade and become the lead of growth for the local economy. From January to October, 98 customs supervised areas in operation achieved a trade value of US$483.9 billion, up 27 per cent year on year to historical high.