Foreign
China sees continuous development of comprehensive bonded zones
China sees continuous development of comprehensive bonded zones
By Qiu Haifeng, People’s Daily
Comprehensive bonded zones (CBZs), known for their high-level openness and streamlined customs clearance procedures, are special customs supervision areas established by the Chinese government.
Many preferential policies are available in China’s CBZs, including tax refunds upon entry, bonded imports, and free movement of goods within the zones, which can significantly reduce the institutional costs of transactions.
Over the past decade, the number of CBZs in China has been steadily growing since the first one became operational in 2007. So far, over 160 CBZs have been set up in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across the country.
The Beijing Zhongguancun comprehensive bonded zone (hereafter referred to as “Zhongguancun CBZ”), the first one in China featuring research and development (R&D) and innovation, has passed acceptance review in April. The bonded zone has a planned area of 0.4 square kilometers and an industrial space of 660,000 square meters. It will develop integrated circuit and pharmaceutical industries as the core, and artificial intelligence and technology service industries as the focus. Besides, it aims to expand bonded service formats, including headquarters economy, cross-border e-commerce, among others.
The first phase of the Zhongguancun CBZ involves an industrial space covering 100,000 square meters, which will accommodate the main facilities of 11 enterprises, including HyperStrong, Naton Technology Group, and Agile Robots.
“The Zhongguancun CBZ is a crucial experiment to examine how CBZs can contribute to sci-tech innovation,” said Feng Bin, deputy head of Beijing Customs.
According to Feng, by leveraging the policy advantages, the Zhongguancun CBZ aims to cultivate new business models that integrate bonded trade with other elements, drive technological innovation and foster new quality productive forces within the zone, while also strengthening industry collaboration inside and outside the zone.
Here is a vivid example to showcase the efficiency of China’s CBZs. In the past, Suzuki cars manufactured in India had to pass through South Korea before being exported to Central and South America, which involved multiple transfers, customs declarations, and other intricate processes.
Today, things are not the same anymore. The vehicles can be temporarily stored in the Yangshan special comprehensive bonded zone (hereafter referred to as “Yangshan special CBZ”) in east China’s Shanghai municipality, and later shipped to their final destinations.
Shou Shunyang, an official with Yangshan Customs, used a recent batch of goods as an example to illustrate the bonded vehicle transit business within the zone, where the production and market ends are both outside of China.
On April 26, a total of 2,687 Indian-made Suzuki vehicles arrived at the Nangang terminal of Shanghai and were immediately transferred in bulk to the adjacent Yangshan special CBZ for bonded storage.
Among them, 1,379 were shipped to Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras on May 5, while the rest were destined for Chile and Nicaragua.
It is reported that since starting independent customs operation in May 2020, the Yangshan special CBZ has made continuous breakthroughs in building a new type of trade demonstration zone, a global shipping hub, and an incubator for innovative business.
Additionally, the dense shipping routes and frequent sailings at the ports in Shanghai provide more options for consolidated shipping, significantly improving efficiency and reducing costs for businesses.
It is estimated that compared to traditional routes, this shipping route can reduce the logistics cost of exporting these vehicles by 12 percent and shorten the shipping time by 25 percent.
After four years of development, the number of registered enterprises in the Yangshan special CBZ has reached 1,591, with a total import and export value exceeding 780 billion yuan ($107.73), and an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 40 percent.
The continuously growing and upgrading CBZs are bringing new opportunities and injecting new momentum into the development of foreign trade across China.
For instance, there are 13 CBZs in south China’s Guangdong province. According to the Guangdong sub-administration of China’s General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter of this year, the import and export value of bonded logistics in Guangdong’s CBZs reached 139.42 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.8 percent. The total import and export value of all CBZs in the province exceeded 170.98 billion yuan, accounting for 8.4 percent of Guangdong’s total foreign trade.
Besides, the Yantai free trade port zone in east China’s Shandong province has strengthened information exchanges and resource sharing with customs, ports, and other authorities. It has improved supporting facilities and developed new business models such as cross-border e-commerce, international transit of commercial vehicles, and bonded blending of mineral products, creating more new growth drivers for foreign trade.
In the first quarter of this year, the import and export volume of the Yantai free trade port zone exceeded 20 billion yuan, accounting for about a fifth of the city’s total foreign trade.
According to industry insiders, China’s special customs supervision areas represented by CBZs have emerged as important platforms driving the development of an open economy.
Last year, the total import and export value of goods in China’s CBZs surpassed 6 trillion yuan, accounting for approximately 15 percent of the country’s total foreign trade, almost twice the amount five years ago.
By Qiu Haifeng, People’s Daily
Comprehensive bonded zones (CBZs), known for their high-level openness and streamlined customs clearance procedures, are special customs supervision areas established by the Chinese government.
Many preferential policies are available in China’s CBZs, including tax refunds upon entry, bonded imports, and free movement of goods within the zones, which can significantly reduce the institutional costs of transactions.
Over the past decade, the number of CBZs in China has been steadily growing since the first one became operational in 2007. So far, over 160 CBZs have been set up in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across the country.
The Beijing Zhongguancun comprehensive bonded zone (hereafter referred to as “Zhongguancun CBZ”), the first one in China featuring research and development (R&D) and innovation, has passed acceptance review in April. The bonded zone has a planned area of 0.4 square kilometers and an industrial space of 660,000 square meters. It will develop integrated circuit and pharmaceutical industries as the core, and artificial intelligence and technology service industries as the focus. Besides, it aims to expand bonded service formats, including headquarters economy, cross-border e-commerce, among others.
The first phase of the Zhongguancun CBZ involves an industrial space covering 100,000 square meters, which will accommodate the main facilities of 11 enterprises, including HyperStrong, Naton Technology Group, and Agile Robots.
“The Zhongguancun CBZ is a crucial experiment to examine how CBZs can contribute to sci-tech innovation,” said Feng Bin, deputy head of Beijing Customs.
According to Feng, by leveraging the policy advantages, the Zhongguancun CBZ aims to cultivate new business models that integrate bonded trade with other elements, drive technological innovation and foster new quality productive forces within the zone, while also strengthening industry collaboration inside and outside the zone.
Here is a vivid example to showcase the efficiency of China’s CBZs. In the past, Suzuki cars manufactured in India had to pass through South Korea before being exported to Central and South America, which involved multiple transfers, customs declarations, and other intricate processes.
Today, things are not the same anymore. The vehicles can be temporarily stored in the Yangshan special comprehensive bonded zone (hereafter referred to as “Yangshan special CBZ”) in east China’s Shanghai municipality, and later shipped to their final destinations.
Shou Shunyang, an official with Yangshan Customs, used a recent batch of goods as an example to illustrate the bonded vehicle transit business within the zone, where the production and market ends are both outside of China.
On April 26, a total of 2,687 Indian-made Suzuki vehicles arrived at the Nangang terminal of Shanghai and were immediately transferred in bulk to the adjacent Yangshan special CBZ for bonded storage.
Among them, 1,379 were shipped to Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras on May 5, while the rest were destined for Chile and Nicaragua.
It is reported that since starting independent customs operation in May 2020, the Yangshan special CBZ has made continuous breakthroughs in building a new type of trade demonstration zone, a global shipping hub, and an incubator for innovative business.
Additionally, the dense shipping routes and frequent sailings at the ports in Shanghai provide more options for consolidated shipping, significantly improving efficiency and reducing costs for businesses.
It is estimated that compared to traditional routes, this shipping route can reduce the logistics cost of exporting these vehicles by 12 percent and shorten the shipping time by 25 percent.
After four years of development, the number of registered enterprises in the Yangshan special CBZ has reached 1,591, with a total import and export value exceeding 780 billion yuan ($107.73), and an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 40 percent.
The continuously growing and upgrading CBZs are bringing new opportunities and injecting new momentum into the development of foreign trade across China.
For instance, there are 13 CBZs in south China’s Guangdong province. According to the Guangdong sub-administration of China’s General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter of this year, the import and export value of bonded logistics in Guangdong’s CBZs reached 139.42 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.8 percent. The total import and export value of all CBZs in the province exceeded 170.98 billion yuan, accounting for 8.4 percent of Guangdong’s total foreign trade.
Besides, the Yantai free trade port zone in east China’s Shandong province has strengthened information exchanges and resource sharing with customs, ports, and other authorities. It has improved supporting facilities and developed new business models such as cross-border e-commerce, international transit of commercial vehicles, and bonded blending of mineral products, creating more new growth drivers for foreign trade.
In the first quarter of this year, the import and export volume of the Yantai free trade port zone exceeded 20 billion yuan, accounting for about a fifth of the city’s total foreign trade.
According to industry insiders, China’s special customs supervision areas represented by CBZs have emerged as important platforms driving the development of an open economy.
Last year, the total import and export value of goods in China’s CBZs surpassed 6 trillion yuan, accounting for approximately 15 percent of the country’s total foreign trade, almost twice the amount five years ago.
By Song Haoxin, People’s Daily
What if museum visitors could truly interact with cultural relics rather than merely observe them through glass displays? At the Sanxingdui Museum in southwest China’s Sichuan province, a specially designed interactive hall is revolutionizing cultural engagement.
Within this 1,300-square-meter space, nearly every exhibit invites touch, operation, or participation. Visitors immerse themselves in installations inspired by the ancient Shu civilization, blending education with entertainment.
By trying on replicas of headwear on bronze statues discovered in Sanxingdui Ruins, for example, visitors can not only take photos of themselves but also learn about the symbolic meanings behind different headpieces.
Guests can don replicas of bronze statue headwear from the Sanxingdui Ruins, learning their symbolic meanings while capturing photos. Augmented reality allows dancing alongside virtual Sanxingdui figures for social media sharing. A creation zone even enables “time travel” to experience ancient bronze-casting and construction techniques.
These innovations transform traditional museum visits, offering deeper cultural understanding through hands-on interaction. “This hall emerged from extensive brainstorming,” explained Zhu Yarong, deputy director of the management committee of the Sanxingdui Ruins site.
“We’re transitioning from passive relic viewing to interactive engagement, bridging the gap between audiences and history.”
Previously, museum experiences were largely one-directional with limited engagement. Visitors viewed relics through display cases, usually stopping mainly to take photographs, with relatively limited forms of engagement. By liberating artifacts from display cases into interactive settings, Sanxingdui is pioneering a shift from didactic presentation to open cultural dialogue.
Traditional exhibition spaces remain popular, while digital innovations attract growing interest. A VR project employs digital twin technology to recreate 1:1 scale excavation sites — complete with protective shelters and cabins — placing visitors at the archaeological forefront.
Another project, Heaven and Earth Echoes — Sanxingdui Panoramic Sound and Vision Digital Art Theater, features an interactive panoramic LED dome with a diameter of 20 meters and a resolution approaching 16K. The massive dome creates a deeply immersive atmosphere. By waving digital torches in their hands, visitors can trigger sacred birds to circle above them across the dome, experiencing the ancient Shu civilization through an interplay of sound and imagery.
“The digital technology made me feel as if I were racing across the Mamu River. That sense of traveling through time was incredible,” said Hao Yong, a tourist from southwest China’s Chongqing municipality who came specifically to experience a virtual reality program.
From passive observation to active participation, Sanxingdui Museum continues introducing new interactive experiences that transform cultural relics into living carriers of dialogue and engagement, helping keep the sparks of Chinese civilization alive for new generations.
My people of Benue State,
I am not speaking to you today as a politician. I am speaking as a brother whose family was held up by Chief Mike Kaase Aondoakaa, MKA, when we had no one else to hold onto.
My elder brother, Verem Ukaa-Ikuan, was not just my blood. He was a very dear and close friend to Chief MKA. When my brother fell ill and was diagnosed with liver damage caused by poisoning, MKA didn’t treat it as someone else’s problem. He took it on as his own.
He worked closely with Verem during his time as Attorney General of the Federation, and when the sickness came, he moved immediately. Searches were conducted, and Apollo Hospital in India was earmarked for a liver transplant. Every travel arrangement was made personally by Chief MKA.
But we hit a wall. Verem was too weak to fly a long commercial flight. Only an air ambulance could get him to India alive. At that time, there was only one functional air ambulance in the entire country, owned by Julius Berger. It was completely out of reach for even the most high-profile citizens.
Chief MKA went all out. He did not give excuses. He did not delay. He used every connection and every ounce of influence he had to secure that air ambulance for my brother.
On the day it was secured, Barr. Terna Yaji, his Senior Special Assistant, called me a few minutes after 6pm. He told us to prepare Verem for departure and take him to Makurdi airport very early the following morning. I informed him, my brother passed on at exactly 6 o’clock a few minutes ago. I told Barr. Terna Yaji, and I saw a devastated MKA.
During the burial, Chief MKA was out of the country on national assignment. He was pained that he could not be there physically. His entire team, led by the late Onov Tyuulugh, represented him fully. And his message to us at the burial has never left me:
“If death were law, as the Attorney General, a law would have been made no matter what to ensure Verem will just not die but live forever.”
That is who Mike Kaase Aondoakaa is when nobody is watching. He does not abandon his people. He does not forget. He stood with our family then, and he has stood with us till date.
Now he is asking for the chance to govern Benue State.
Benue needs a governor with a heart like that. A governor who fights for you even when there’s no political gain. A governor who sees you as family, not as a vote.
I am standing with Chief Mike Kaase Aondoakaa for Governor of Benue State.
For compassion that moves to action.
For loyalty that does not fade.
For leadership that proves itself in the darkest hour.
Join me. Let us give Benue a leader who has already shown what he will do for us.
God bless Chief Mike Kaase Aondoakaa.
God bless Benue State.
Brahms Tor-Ikuan, a beneficiary of MKA’s benevolence writes from Makurdi
By Guo Jiping
At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump will pay a state visit to China from May 13 to 15.
After many twists and turns, China-U.S. relations have arrived at a new historical juncture. The year 2026 carries special significance for both countries. China is embarking on its 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), while the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary.
Amidst increasing global uncertainty and volatility, the international community looks to Beijing, hopeful that this high-level engagement will offer clarity and stability for the future trajectory of China-U.S. relations.
Observers note that over the past decade, the relationship has weathered two significant periods of strain. The first began in 2018 with the U.S. initiation of trade tariffs against China. Stabilization was achieved only after extensive dialogue and complex interactions spanning several years. The second period of tension occurred more recently in 2025. Remarkably, the cycle from rising friction to renewed stability unfolded within just a few months this time.
The progression from years-long to months-long stabilization cycles, and from repetitive friction-dialogue patterns towards clearer strategic direction and consensus-building, reflects China’s consistent approach: readiness to negotiate combined with firm adherence to principles and clear boundaries. China’s demonstrated resilience has garnered international respect and created conditions conducive to resolving differences through dialogue.
Today, China-U.S. dialogue occurs on a more equitable basis. Communication is increasingly pragmatic, with clearer articulation of respective bottom lines. This resilience suggests the potential for a new, more stable chapter in the relationship.
Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role. Last year, when a wave of tariff tensions rattled the world, the two presidents steered China-U.S. economic and trade ties back on course.
Under the guidance of the consensus reached by the two presidents, the teams from both sides have so far held six rounds of consultations and are currently engaged in a new round of talks.
Since the meeting between the two heads of state in Busan last October, China-U.S. relations have generally maintained a stable and improving momentum — a trend widely welcomed by both peoples and the international community.
The strategic guidance provided by the two heads of state helps identify “dangerous reefs” ahead in China-U.S. relations. The Taiwan question is the most important and most sensitive issue at the very core of China-U.S. relations, and it concerns the political foundation of bilateral ties.
Xi has repeatedly elaborated China’s principled position on the Taiwan question to Trump, emphasizing that Taiwan is China’s territory, and China must safeguard its own sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will never allow Taiwan to be separated. Clearly defining principles and bottom lines is precisely the responsible approach needed to prevent serious risks in China-U.S. relations.
The aspiration of the Chinese and American business communities to deepen ties and cooperation has never changed. At present, more than 7,000 Chinese-funded enterprises operate in the United States, while about 80,000 American-invested enterprises are active in China.
These firm choices made at the forefront of the market clearly and powerfully demonstrate the true nature of China-U.S. economic and trade relations: mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.
As China enters the 15th Five-Year Plan period, its commitment to high-quality development and high-standard opening up will create broader incremental space for China-U.S. cooperation.
The will of the people stands as a profound and enduring force shaping the trajectory of China-U.S. relations. Whether at those pivotal moments when China and the United States seized every moment to break the ice, or when bilateral relations slid to a low ebb, the sincere aspiration of the two peoples for mutual understanding and friendship has never changed.
As exchanges deepen and produce tangible results, perceptions are improving positively. More Americans are actively participating in fostering people-to-people friendship, contributing greater rationality and constructive perspectives to the relationship.
In the face of profound changes unseen in a century, China and the United States, as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the world’s two largest economies, shoulder even greater responsibilities. Promoting global development, safeguarding peace and security, and improving global governance all require cooperation between the two countries.
This year, China will host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the U.S. will host the G20 Summit. Whether the two sides can demonstrate the vision and responsibility expected of major countries, and deliver more tangible benefits to the world, bears directly on the well-being of both peoples and the future of humanity.
China-U.S. relations cannot return to the past, but they can move toward a better future. Both sides should proceed from a sense of responsibility to history, to the people, and to the world, and explore ways to build a strategic, constructive, and stable China-U.S. relationship featuring mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation.
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