China unveils support for Guangdong, Tianjin, Fujian FTZs

BEIJING - China's customs regulator released measures on Thursday to overhaul customs services for the newly-established free trade zones (FTZs) in Guangdong province, Tianjin city and Fujian province.

The General Administration of Customs (GAC) said enterprises registered in the three FTZs will be allowed to lodge customs declarations across the country, in a bid to make procedures more efficient.

GAC will scrap tariffs for selected goods produced by enterprises in the "Customs Special Supervision Areas" in these FTZs.

The administration promised to improve regulation for cross-border e-commerce businesses, and intensify efforts to crackdown on smuggling and intellectual property right infringement.

GAC will also support customs cooperation between Guangdong FTZ and Hong Kong, Macao; Tianjin FTZ and Beijing, Hebei province; Fujian FTZ and Taiwan.

China set up the three FTZs in April, 18 months after the first FTA was established in Shanghai to help streamline the overloaded administrative approval system and encourage innovation and internationalization.