The import and export value of Dongguan Hong Kong International Airport Center has exceeded 65 billion yuan in its third anniversary of operation (see chart)

The picture shows customs officers monitoring the installation of electronic components that are about to be transported to Hong Kong International Airport at Dongguan Port

In the Dongguan Humen Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone, about 70 kilometers away from Hong Kong International Airport, there is a busy scene with customs supervision, security checks, palletizing, transportation coordination, and orderly connection. This 82000 square meter park is being developed into an "airport without runways". Since its official operation on April 18, 2023, the "Dongguan Hong Kong International Airport Center" (hereinafter referred to as the Airport Center) has achieved an import and export value of over 65 billion yuan in the past three years, with an average annual growth rate of 217%. It has over 1500 types of imported and exported goods, serving more than 2000 enterprises in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area to efficiently "fly globally".

About 80% of the air import and export goods in Dongguan are distributed through Hong Kong International Airport, while about 40% of the air cargo at Hong Kong International Airport comes from Dongguan. In this context, Guangdong and Hong Kong have creatively created the only cross-border sea air intermodal transportation project in China that directly connects to the airside of the airport. The core functions of Hong Kong International Airport, such as aviation security inspection, palletizing, and cargo handling, have been extended to Dongguan, achieving "one declaration, one security inspection, one stop loading, and direct global delivery". The project has been selected as one of the first typical cases of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area's rule connection mechanism docking.

In the past, goods from Dongguan were usually transported by land to Hong Kong International Airport through cross-border trucks from Guangdong and Hong Kong, and then transported to Shenzhen Port for customs clearance. Now, the core function of the Hong Kong International Airport cargo terminal is located in Dongguan, and it can be directly loaded in Hong Kong without the need for secondary security checks or palletizing, which is equivalent to moving the airport to the doorstep of enterprises and saving us about 30% of logistics costs, "said Xiao Zhiliang, Deputy General Manager of Dongguan Port International Air Transport Company.

In response to the high time requirements for customs clearance of high-tech products, Huangpu Customs has accurately pushed the deployment and inspection mode of high-tech goods such as vacuum packaging to enhance the "seamless customs clearance" experience. Enterprises can report in advance, and the goods can be inspected as soon as they arrive without waiting. Starting from the arrival of the goods at the airport center, it only takes 14 hours to board the plane at Hong Kong International Airport, "said Yang Zhe, head of the bonded logistics inspection department at Sha Tin Customs.

In the past three years of operation, the airport center has maintained a rapid growth rate in business, with the import and export freight volume increasing from an average of 270 tons per month at the beginning of operation to an average of over 1300 tons per month at present. By 2025, the cross-border e-commerce volume exported through the airport center will reach 11000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.5 times. At present, from the moment cross-border e-commerce products are released from the warehouse, they can be delivered to overseas buyers in as little as 5 days.

In the first quarter of this year, the import and export value of goods in the airport center increased by 134% year-on-year, and the categories of goods also expanded in a more diversified direction. Overseas fresh products such as coconut green from Thailand and tuna from Spain have already been supplied to the domestic market through the airport center.

Huangpu Customs will continue to fully support the construction of the airport center, using "small incision" services to promote the construction of "one point, two places" in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, and help "Bay Area manufacturing" reach the world. (Pu Xuan/Text)