The port of entry is Lingang situated between Pudong International Airport to the north and Yangshan Deepwater Port to the south. It was absorbed into the free trade zone in 2013 and a giant logistics park has been developed there to handle the growing trade. 

 

It houses a 100-square mile port and logistics park with a relatively low rental, making it a destination for cross-border e-commerce goods arriving by ocean that links the port to 300 other ports across the world.

 

Amended import regulations at Shanghai free trade zone mean e-commerce parcels do not need to be carried into China exclusively by air, Newark's Journal of Commerce reported.

 

A cross-border e-commerce website operating out of the free trade zone enables China customers to make online orders from overseas companies, eliminating the need to use grey market channels, place expensive offshore orders or take overseas buying trips, or use limited online retailers in China.

 

"China Customs now allows goods to get into the free trade zone before needing to be declared," said general manager of Shanghai Origin International Logistics, Huang Yingming. 

 

"Containers can be transported to warehouses in the zone and made ready for sorting and packaging. This was unheard of in the past when all processing had to be done manually," he said.

 

Mr Huang said the new online system meant 3,000 orders could be processed in 15 minutes instead of the three to five days of the past. It will end long waiting times for deliveries, lower prices by up to 30 per cent and ensure that products meet quality standards.

 

Colliers International said in a report that the ability to hold inventory in Shanghai without paying tax until the goods are actually ordered and delivered to the consumer would reduce the time-sensitive nature of shipping and allow companies to ship products via ocean freight, at much lower costs than air freight.

 

Capitalising on that fact, five companies from three countries have banded together to sell imported popular household products such as diapers and milk powder in China, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone said in a statement.

 

The partners are Itochu, Japan's third-largest trading house; Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailand's biggest conglomerate; and Chinese companies CITIC, China Mobile and Shanghai Information Investment Inc. They will invest a total of US$500 million, and the joint venture will benefit from preferential policies offered by the free trade zone.

 

"We predict the scale of cross-border e-commerce in China will jump from nearly CNY76.7 billion (US$12.4 billion) in 2013 to about CNY1 trillion by 2018," Itochu announced. "We see huge demand for premium products in the country."

 

(Source:shippingazette)