The Guiyang Free Trade Zone in the city of Guiyang, Guizhou province held a bonded product exhibition and trade event, on October 12, while announcing the opening of its first cross-border e-commerce industrial zone, which is a milestone on the province's road to developing its cross-border trade.

Bonded product trade fair in Guiyang, Guizhou.[Photo/Zhou Yuangang]

Companies in the free trade zone are now in a position to do product exhibitions and trade either inside or outside the zone and, according to Li Yao, chief manager of the free trade zone, the innovative policy benefits cross-border trade in the zone because international products have easier, more convenient access to Guizhou.

A bonded product trade fair center, with a planned 5,000-square-meter area is already completed and has early 20 e-commerce companies from China and abroad settled in, and future plans for the e-commerce industrial zone call for combined cross-border settlements, warehousing, an experience center and incubator for small-to-medium-sized enterprises, to be operational by June 2018, with over 100 enterprises.

In commenting on the zone, Shen Xinguo, a provincial business official, said, "This Guizhou cross-border e-commerce industrial zone is a breakthrough which is expected to make cross-border e-commerce in the province flourish," then added that the provincial business office expects to apply for cross-border e-commerce pilot city status to support the free trade zone.