[photopress:zones_qinhzhou.jpg,full,alignright]Application has been made by the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwest China for permission to construct a bonded port zone in Qinzhou city, the sixth such zone in the country.
Local news reports said the regional government had submitted the application to eight state governmental departments including the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Land and Resources and State Development and Reform Commission for founding the bonded port zones.
The application is widely expected to be formally approved by the State Council, and if it does, Qinzhou will join the bonded port zones of Shanghai Yangshan, Tianjin Dongjiang, Dalian Dayaowan, Hainan Yangpu Port and Zhejiang Meishan.
Guangxi is the province on Guangdong’s western border and close to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) became each other’s fourth-largest trading partners last year. Total bilateral trade between China and ASEAN grew 25.9% last year to $202.5 billion, with the trade between Guangxi and ASEAN topping $2.91 billion last year.
Ports in the Beibu Gulf handed 274,200 TEUs last year.
Guangxi plans to build Qinzhou city into an international shipping centre in 10-15 years.
Source: CargoNews Asia