China Daily Global Edition (USA)
New facilities help to boost trade
As China promotes pilot free trade zones nationwide, Xiamen, Fujian province, has benefited from the strategy as a result of streamlined procedures and upgraded facilities for the promotion of international trade.
The coastal city, a crucial part of the (China) Fujian Pilot Free Trade Zone, has initiated a new “single-window” service to facilitate rapid inspection of documents and has also upgraded its automated container facilities to promote imports and exports.
As a highlight of the free trade pilot in Fujian, the single-window service integrates procedures for approval or registry at 36 government departments, such as customs and the finance and tax authorities, according to Xu Jun, general manager of the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone Xiamen E-port Co.
Having started operations on April 21, 2015, the e-port can process more than 60 application sub-services at the window, reducing data applications and processing by 32 percent.
As a result, cargo declaration times have been reduced to about five to 10 minutes from the previous 4 hours, while ships only have to stop in the harbor for about two and a half hours.
Previously, vessels waited a day and a half for cargo declaration and customs clearance, said Chen Fangfang, a production assistant at the company.
The e-port processes about 110,000 certifications and clearances every day, serving more than 5,600 users and 26,000 businesses.
The service, which has been replicated in cities such as Quanzhou, Zhangzhou and Longyan, all in Fujian, also exchanges data with a regional trade network in Taiwan.
Meanwhile, world-leading facilities are being put in place to shorten transportation times and improve efficiency for businesses in Xiamen, one of the starting points of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.
Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal Co has China’s first automated docking area, where containers are loaded and unloaded, and is a key player in the city’s drive to build itself into an international shipping center.
On May 27, the OOCL Hong Kong, the world’s first container ship to surpass the 20,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit threshold, docked at the Ocean Gate Container Terminal, the first time that such a large vessel has called at Xiamen.
The automated terminal is controlled by new technologies, including cloud computing and automatic positioning, which gives it an advantage over traditional ports. Morevoer, the new technologies have reduced carbon emissions by 20 percent and lowered costs by more than 20 percent, said Chen Yipeng, the company’s deputy general manager.