Guangzhou’s “Number One Scholar Valley”: Pioneer and policy leader in cross-border e-commerce

As China’s “foreign trade window”, Guangzhou’s annual Canton Fair attracts a large number of merchants and investors, forming close economic and trade ties with countries and regions around the world. Guangzhou not only has a seaport and the second largest airport in the country, but also relies on Hong Kong, China, as a transit port, showing a unique location advantage. Due to its pioneering policies and practices, Guangzhou has become a pioneer city in cross-border e-commerce, taking the lead in implementing many policy measures that are still being discussed in other cities.

In the entire Guangdong Province, the customs team accounts for nearly half of the country, of which Guangzhou has 7 first-level customs. As a free trade zone, Guangzhou is also an important starting point for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao integrated convenience zone and the Maritime Silk Road. It has the only branch office of the General Administration of Customs. Therefore, this place often has “foresight” policies and is at the forefront of cross-border e-commerce. If you don’t go to Guangzhou to study, it can’t be considered a real start. The advocacy of new cross-border policies also originated in Guangdong and Guangzhou.

Guangzhou is relatively cautious in controlling policies. For example, in terms of commodity inspection, airport customs clearance has implemented strict inspection and quarantine on milk powder and other products. At the same time, Guangzhou implements classified customs clearance according to enterprise management categories, and improves the efficiency of customs clearance through “advance telegram, inspection and release of goods upon arrival”. It is worth mentioning that Guangzhou has outstanding performance in the open management of cross-border e-commerce and logistics companies. Participants only need to register and do not need to register companies locally, forming a unique situation dominated by logistics companies, and market competition has become increasingly fierce.

As the largest foreign trade province, Guangdong’s cross-border e-commerce transaction volume accounts for 70% of the country’s total. It has established 11 cross-border e-commerce parks, and various operating modes and customs clearance methods are accessible without hindrance. Since November 2014, Guangzhou has officially opened the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” cross-border e-commerce platform. As a result, the local government has paid more attention to exports and established a special tax refund guarantee fund for cross-border e-commerce.