In a move that would create China's sixth preferential tax zone, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region in southwest China is seeking central government approval to build a bonded port area in Qinzhou.
Local reports state that regional authorities submitted applications to eight government departments including the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Land and Resources and State Development and Reform Commission.
Official approval by the State Council and Cabinet officials, which sources claim is most likely to take place, would make Qinzhou the sixth bonded port zone in China.
The other five to date are Shanghai's Yangshan Bonded Harbour Area, Dongjiang Bonded Harbour Area in Tianjin, Dalian's Dayaowan Bonded Harbour Area and Yangpu Bonded Harbour Area in Haikou with the most recent addition being Ningbo's Meishan Bonded Harbour Area.
Regional authorities have been pushing to create preferential tax zones in order to allow favourable tax regulations for investors including wholly tax-free programs.
Several Chinese central government officials have praised the preferential tax zones as being important to regional economic development as the bonded ports would advance trade volumes with neighbouring economies.
The Dayaowan Bonded Harbour Area located at the Dagushan Peninsula in the northeastern part of Dalian, for example, has been called a major step towards forming a free trade zone between China, Japan and South Korea.
Qinzhou port in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, located close to several ASEAN countries, could play a pivotal role in advancing economic development with ASEAN member states.
China and ASEAN became each other's fourth largest trading partners in 2007. Bilateral trade between the two jumped a significant 25.9% from the previous year's volumes.
The $202.5 billion worth of bilateral trade has exceeded expectations and hit scheduled trading volumes three years ahead of mutual targets.
Meanwhile, Chinese provincial officials in Hainan have announced plans to build a 10 million m³ oil storage facility in Haikou's Yangpu Bonded Harbour Area.
Hainan Vice Governor Jiang Sixian said that, according to China's preferential tax policies on bonded ports, ships carrying crude oil that dock at Yangpu would face no import duties, no transfer taxes and no VAT.
When the storage facility comes on stream, it will become China's closest oil storage hub to the Straits of Malacca.
The port of Yangpu is currently home to the only 300,000 metric tonnes (mt) of crude oil terminal in southern China, and houses an eight million mt refining project run by Sinopec.
Local reports state that regional authorities submitted applications to eight government departments including the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Land and Resources and State Development and Reform Commission.
Official approval by the State Council and Cabinet officials, which sources claim is most likely to take place, would make Qinzhou the sixth bonded port zone in China.
The other five to date are Shanghai's Yangshan Bonded Harbour Area, Dongjiang Bonded Harbour Area in Tianjin, Dalian's Dayaowan Bonded Harbour Area and Yangpu Bonded Harbour Area in Haikou with the most recent addition being Ningbo's Meishan Bonded Harbour Area.
Regional authorities have been pushing to create preferential tax zones in order to allow favourable tax regulations for investors including wholly tax-free programs.
Several Chinese central government officials have praised the preferential tax zones as being important to regional economic development as the bonded ports would advance trade volumes with neighbouring economies.
The Dayaowan Bonded Harbour Area located at the Dagushan Peninsula in the northeastern part of Dalian, for example, has been called a major step towards forming a free trade zone between China, Japan and South Korea.
Qinzhou port in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, located close to several ASEAN countries, could play a pivotal role in advancing economic development with ASEAN member states.
China and ASEAN became each other's fourth largest trading partners in 2007. Bilateral trade between the two jumped a significant 25.9% from the previous year's volumes.
The $202.5 billion worth of bilateral trade has exceeded expectations and hit scheduled trading volumes three years ahead of mutual targets.
Meanwhile, Chinese provincial officials in Hainan have announced plans to build a 10 million m³ oil storage facility in Haikou's Yangpu Bonded Harbour Area.
Hainan Vice Governor Jiang Sixian said that, according to China's preferential tax policies on bonded ports, ships carrying crude oil that dock at Yangpu would face no import duties, no transfer taxes and no VAT.
When the storage facility comes on stream, it will become China's closest oil storage hub to the Straits of Malacca.
The port of Yangpu is currently home to the only 300,000 metric tonnes (mt) of crude oil terminal in southern China, and houses an eight million mt refining project run by Sinopec.