North Bank of the Qiongzhou Strait - Zhanjiang Customs Fully Guards the Smooth Start of the Free Trade Port's Closure
As Hainan Free Trade Port enters the final countdown to its customs clearance operation on December 18, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, which faces it across the sea, has been fully put on standby.
"Loop Liner" facilitates logistics and helps Yangpu build an international hub port
Maintaining the smooth transportation of the "lifeline" has become a crucial task for customs clearance. Zhanjiang Customs has innovatively introduced the "Parallel Port" logistics model, which integrates Zhanjiang, Shenzhen, and Hainan customs and ports, establishing a "maritime loop liner" connecting the three regions and sharing shipping resources. This has opened up a "second channel" for sea transportation besides the main channel of the Qiongzhou Strait for goods to enter and exit Hainan Island. This model integrates policies such as "domestic and foreign trade on the same vessel", significantly improving container ship loading rates and reducing waiting times for goods. Since its pilot implementation in September 2024, this model has operated 62 voyages, transporting over 14,700 TEU of cargo.
The "Parallel Port" logistics model not only provides a solid guarantee for the stable supply of materials within Hainan Island after customs clearance, but also effectively aids in the expansion and upgrading of Yangpu Port: to the east, it connects with the port clusters of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, enabling rapid access to the international market; to the west, it integrates into the new land and sea routes in the western region and the China-Europe freight train network, becoming an important logistics gateway radiating to the "Belt and Road"; to the south, it fully utilizes the policy dividends of the Free Trade Port to develop international transit and entrepot trade, helping Yangpu Port to advance towards becoming a world-class container hub port.
"Smart commodity inspection" provides strong support for serving the high-quality development of Hainan's industries
Hainan Free Trade Port adheres to ecological priority and green development, focuses on the construction of "three zones and one center", and strives to develop leading industries such as high-tech.
To ensure efficient and stable supply of production raw materials to Hainan, Zhanjiang Customs has fully promoted the construction of a smart customs system. By researching and selecting intelligent equipment, developing big data models, and creating centralized control applications, the "Smart Commodity Inspection - Bulk Resource Commodity Supervision (Iron Ore)" project has been successfully implemented. This has resulted in an average customs clearance time for each batch of iron ore that is nearly 15 hours shorter than before, saving enterprises approximately 20 million yuan annually. Currently, this system has also been extended to commodities such as crude oil and coal. The efficiency of immediate unloading, inspection, and release provides a stable and reliable guarantee for the raw material supply of key industries in Hainan after customs closure.
"One core and two engines" safeguard order and optimize the business environment at ports after closure
"Duty-free shopping on offshore islands" has become a golden signboard for Hainan Free Trade Port. After the implementation of the new policy on offshore island duty-free shopping in November 2025, in addition to the expansion of existing product categories, high-quality domestic products such as silk, ceramics, clothing, shoes and hats, and coffee were allowed to be sold in duty-free shops for the first time, and they enjoyed the tax refund and exemption policy as if they were exported, leading to a continuous rise in market popularity.
Zhanjiang Customs adheres to the principle of "benefiting enterprises" and "strict management" simultaneously. While facilitating the convenient flow of compliant goods, it closely monitors the new situation after the closure, expanding and establishing a "one core, two engines" risk prevention and control model. Under continuous high-pressure deterrence, the market environment has been effectively purified, allowing policy dividends to truly benefit the vast number of travelers, and building a solid safety barrier for the healthy and orderly development of the free trade port after the closure. (Text/Wang Ting, Xin Dihao, Kuang Liukui, Wang Xiaodong)