China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) is entering the final sprint toward its island-wide customs closure. On December 18th, the Hainan FTP will officially launch　an island-wide independent customs operation. As a core pillar supporting the upcoming operation, Guangdong and Hainan provinces have upgraded port hubs, introduced innovative customs clearance procedures for railways, and strengthened coordination across logistics networks, effectively establishing a one-hour economic circle between Guangdong and Hainan.

The Qiongzhou Strait, regarded as Hainan's "lifeline" to the Chinese mainland, handles more than 90% of the island's daily necessities and passenger flows.

In recent years, the dual-hub structure of Xuwen Port and Haikou's Xinhai Port across the strait has rapidly taken shape. Xuwen Port, which began operation in September 2020, was designed to handle 3.2 million vehicle　trips and 17.28 million passenger trips annually, placing it among the world's largest passenger-cargo ro-ro terminals. Thanks to optimized navigation channels, the shipping distance between Xuwen and Haikou has been reduced from 24 nautical miles to 12, shortening travel time from 2–3 hours to just 1 hour. This has turned the vision of a one-hour economic circle between Guangdong and Hainan into a reality.

As a key supporting project for customs closure, the China Railway Freight Haikou Station Cargo Inspection Area has received a total investment of 120 million yuan. Covering 8,000 square meters, it is equipped with three container inspection platforms, one dedicated bulk cargo inspection area, and eight intelligent inspection devices, with a designed daily inspection capacity of 2,000 tonnes of goods.

At present, Hainan's annual rail freight volume reaches around 7.5 million tonnes, with Haikou Station handling 1.2 million tonnes annually, over 30% of which is related to cross-border trade. After customs closure, Haikou Station will serve as a cross-border rail freight hub that "connects China's inland regions with ASEAN markets." It is expected to add 300,000 tonnes of cross-border freight each year, reducing customs clearance costs for enterprises by about 15% and supporting the goal of zero tariffs in goods trade.

Source:PEARL

海南封关在即，构筑粤琼“一小时经济圈”

海南自贸港全岛封关进入冲刺倒计时！12月18日起海南自贸港正式启动全岛封关。作为封关运作的核心支撑，粤琼两地通过港口枢纽提质、铁路通关创新、物流体系联动，已基本构筑起琼州海峡“一小时经济圈”。

琼州海峡作为海南连接内地的“生命线”，承担着90%以上的生活物资和客流量运输。

近年来，徐闻港与海口新海港“一峡双枢纽”格局加速成型。徐闻港于2020年9月正式运营，设计年吞吐能力为车辆320万辆次、旅客1728万人次，跻身全球最大客货滚装码头行列。通过航道优化，徐闻至海口的航程从24海里缩减至12海里，航行时间由2-3小时压缩至1小时，让粤琼“一小时经济圈”从构想变为现实。

作为封关关键配套工程，铁路货运海口站封关查验区总投资1.2亿元，占地8000平方米，配备3个集装箱查验平台、1处散货专用查验区及8台智能查验设备，设计日均查验货物能力达2000吨。

目前，海南铁路货运年发送量约750万吨，其中海口站年运输货物120万吨，跨境相关货物占比超30%。封关后，海口站将成为“连接内陆腹地、辐射东盟市场”的跨境铁路货运枢纽，预计年新增跨境货运量30万吨，为企业降低通关成本约15%，助力“货物贸易零关税”目标实现。

文、图｜记者 严锦程
翻译｜曾敏
审校｜肖凯欣