Behind China’s 24 New Free Trade Zone Reforms Lies a Bigger Shift: Bonded Zones Are Being Rebuilt for the Domestic Economy
By: Elena Rostova – SeaPRwire – For years, China’s comprehensive bonded zones were designed around a simple formula. Raw materials came in. Finished goods went out. The domestic market sat largely outside that equation. That model generated enormous trade volume, but it now faces a ceiling. The newly released package of 24 reform measures signals something more significant than administrative fine-tuning. It reflects an effort to redesign bonded zones for a different stage of economic development.
The numbers explain why change became necessary. In 2025, China’s 168 comprehensive bonded zones generated 7.2 trillion yuan in imports and exports, accounting for 16% of the country’s total foreign trade. Yet policymakers increasingly see these zones as more than export-processing platforms. According to Pan Cheng, Director General of the Department of Free Trade Zones and Special Customs Supervision Areas under the General Administration of Customs, the reforms focus on four major areas. One priority is industrial upgrading. Bonded maintenance services are expanding beyond a positive-list approach. Companies will gradually gain greater flexibility to process repaired products, conduct further manufacturing activities, and explore domestic sales channels. In 2025 alone, bonded-zone maintenance businesses recorded 375.73 billion yuan in trade value.
Another reform reveals a deeper policy shift. During regulatory research, authorities found that many biotechnology companies wanted access to bonded R&D benefits but could not realistically relocate laboratories into bonded zones. Instead of forcing companies to move, regulators are testing a new approach. Qualified biotech firms outside the zones may receive bonded-zone customs registration codes, allowing them to access selected bonded R&D policies. In practical terms, the policy is moving toward the enterprise rather than requiring the enterprise to move toward the policy. The same logic appears in logistics reforms. New measures support aviation pre-clearance cargo stations, China-Europe Railway Express consolidation hubs, and international road transport centers. Earlier this year, the first Greater Mekong Subregion international road transport service departed from Qianhai Comprehensive Bonded Zone in Shenzhen and headed directly to Vietnam, creating a new logistics corridor linking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with Southeast Asia.
The technology layer may prove equally important. Customs authorities are expanding the use of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, digital twins, and embedded network supervision systems. The goal is straightforward. Regulatory oversight becomes part of daily business operations rather than a separate process. Companies spend less time navigating paperwork. Data moves faster between bonded zones and ports. Local governments are also encouraged to establish integrated service platforms that provide one-stop support for businesses operating inside these zones. This reflects a broader governance trend. Regulatory efficiency is increasingly being treated as economic infrastructure.
The larger message is easy to miss. These reforms are not merely about making bonded zones bigger. They are about making them more connected to China’s domestic economy, innovation system, and international logistics network at the same time. The old model rewarded volume. The next model appears designed to reward flexibility. Whether a bonded zone succeeds in the coming decade may depend less on how many containers pass through its gates and more on how effectively it integrates manufacturing, research, logistics, and digital governance into a single operating platform.
Author bio: Elena Rostova, a public policy scholar specializing in trade governance, industrial development, and institutional reform, with extensive experience analyzing the intersection of regulation and economic competitiveness.