Innovative services accelerate growth of bonded zone
2026-03-25 20:03:25
By Chen Si.
The import and export value of bonded goods at Yichang Comprehensive Bonded Zone rose 91 percent year on year as of March 23 and is expected to double in the first quarter.
On March 24, workers were busy assembling a batch of 10kV high-voltage power distribution cabinets at Plant C10 in the zone.
These are the first orders from Yichang Huake Electric Co., Ltd. to be exported to Kazakhstan. Signed on March 20, the contract is valued at 3.7 million yuan (US$236,000), with delivery required within 50 days.
“Our company signed and moved into the zone last October, attracted by policies such as bonded imports and export tax rebates,” said Li Ming, Chairman of Huake Electric.
Li noted that around 400,000 yuan in value-added tax would have to be paid before export, but the export tax rebate processed in the bonded zone takes only one week for the first order, with faster turnaround expected for future shipments.
Since last year, Yichang has been promoting the development of the bonded zone. A total of 135 foreign trade enterprises across the city have moved into the zone and all enjoy a series of “Bonded+” innovative services.
For example, the zone helped Baiyang Port expand its hazardous goods handling qualifications from 15 to 47 items, accelerating transportation of goods such as cobalt hydroxide and nickel hydroxide imported by Brunp, a large lithium battery material manufacturer.
Meanwhile, a new channel for local automobile foreign trade has been opened. For the first time, GAC Trumpchi vehicles made in Yichang were exported to Mexico via water-rail intermodal transport through the bonded zone, reducing logistics costs by about 30 percent compared to traditional road transportation.
In addition, the zone has implemented a full-process coordination service for CORNEX New Energy, a leading new energy storage system manufacturer. The “advance customs declaration, goods release upon arrival” and temporary supervision of “on-site verification, fast-track release” has cut the time for CORNEX’s storage cabinets to enter and exit the zone by more than 30 percent.
The import and export value of bonded goods at Yichang Comprehensive Bonded Zone rose 91 percent year on year as of March 23 and is expected to double in the first quarter.
On March 24, workers were busy assembling a batch of 10kV high-voltage power distribution cabinets at Plant C10 in the zone.
These are the first orders from Yichang Huake Electric Co., Ltd. to be exported to Kazakhstan. Signed on March 20, the contract is valued at 3.7 million yuan (US$236,000), with delivery required within 50 days.
“Our company signed and moved into the zone last October, attracted by policies such as bonded imports and export tax rebates,” said Li Ming, Chairman of Huake Electric.
Li noted that around 400,000 yuan in value-added tax would have to be paid before export, but the export tax rebate processed in the bonded zone takes only one week for the first order, with faster turnaround expected for future shipments.
Since last year, Yichang has been promoting the development of the bonded zone. A total of 135 foreign trade enterprises across the city have moved into the zone and all enjoy a series of “Bonded+” innovative services.
For example, the zone helped Baiyang Port expand its hazardous goods handling qualifications from 15 to 47 items, accelerating transportation of goods such as cobalt hydroxide and nickel hydroxide imported by Brunp, a large lithium battery material manufacturer.
Meanwhile, a new channel for local automobile foreign trade has been opened. For the first time, GAC Trumpchi vehicles made in Yichang were exported to Mexico via water-rail intermodal transport through the bonded zone, reducing logistics costs by about 30 percent compared to traditional road transportation.
In addition, the zone has implemented a full-process coordination service for CORNEX New Energy, a leading new energy storage system manufacturer. The “advance customs declaration, goods release upon arrival” and temporary supervision of “on-site verification, fast-track release” has cut the time for CORNEX’s storage cabinets to enter and exit the zone by more than 30 percent.
Energy storage cabinets from Yichang CORNEX New Energy Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. have cleared customs and will be shipped out via Yichang Comprehensive Bonded Zone. Photo provided by Yichang Comprehensive Bonded ZoneWhile enterprises enjoy convenience, the zone’s foreign trade scale continues to expand.
“Last year, 12 key enterprises, including Xingfa, CORNEX, Brunp and Angel Yeast contributed nearly 3.5 billion yuan in bonded import and export value, accounting for more than 80 percent of the zone’s total,” said Liu Xin, Director of the Bonded Business Department of Free Trade Zone High-Tech Investment Company under Yichang Industrial Investment Group.
This year, CORNEX will deliver 5GWh of exports, and 40 percent of products from the first phase of Vision Power, another leading new energy storage system manufacturer in China, will be exported after it goes into production.
New business formats are also growing rapidly. As the first offline cross-border e-commerce pick-up store in a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province, Yichang C6 Cross-border Shopping offers nearly 100 high-quality brands from more than 30 countries. Prices for products such as personal care items, cosmetics, nutritional supplements and luggage are about 30 percent lower than the market average.
"We have expanded new cross-border e-commerce models, including overseas direct procurement and direct sales, centralized procurement and distribution, and agency imports. Fifteen enterprises are accelerating their consolidation to build regional distribution warehouses covering Central China in our zone," said Lin Jingjing, Executive Director of Free Trade Zone High-Tech Investment Company under Yichang Industrial Investment Group. "This has driven cross-border e-commerce trade in the zone from 30 million yuan in 2023 to over 200 million yuan in 2025."
According to Zhang Guo’an, Deputy Director of Yichang Comprehensive Bonded Zone Administration Office, the zone’s total foreign trade value exceeded 9 billion yuan for the first time in 2025, accounting for 16.7 percent of the city’s total, while bonded business surged more than tenfold year on year.
Yang Jing, Chen Xiangrui, Xu Linghao, Zhang Guochao also contributed to this story
