Local news portal ptnet.cn published an article on June 11 to give a clear picture of how e-commerce works in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone in Fujian province.

Pingtan was the sixth city in the Chinese mainland designated by the General Administration of Customs to pilot cross-border e-commerce on Jan 2, 2014.

The first batch of cargo through e-commerce was 288 cans of milk powder on May 1, 2015, marking the onset of the project in Fujian province.

Advantages of cross-border e-commerce

Price fall

Local exporters don’t have to pay tax when the cargo is in the bonded warehouse, reducing logistics costs. Imported goods have a lower tax rate, leading to more favorable prices.

Goods ordered online are stored in bulk and shipped to Pingtan, then delivered to consumers in parcels. This will also cut the logistics cost and bring down prices.

Market prospects

Pingtan is the only experimental zone in the mainland open to Taiwan and has been designated a free trade zone. After years of full-scale infrastructure upgrades, it has mature conditions for industries and big projects. It will push for more convenience in investment, trades, finance and cross-Straits travel.

Pingtan is the closest point in the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, and several ships travel between Pingtan and Taiwan on a regular basis. With the opening of port berths and new international shipping routes, there will be a variety of logistics options for cross-border e-commerce in Pingtan.

Pingtan and Taiwan have realized two-way delivery by sea, so Pingtan can make use of Taiwan’s international shipping routes to export and import cargo, and eventually establish a sea-air combined cargo transport network open to the whole world.

Fast customs clearance

Cargo that has passed an online customs scrutiny only takes two to five minutes to be cleared when it reaches Pingtan, according to a customs staff member.

The quarantine period has become more efficient, too, at no more than 10 minutes.