GUANGZHOU – Guangdong’s Hengqin island starts a new customs operation today that allows most goods to be moved there tax-free from the neighboring Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR).
The new operation became effective at 00:00 last night in the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, which is part of Zhuhai. The island covers 106 square kilometers.
Under the new mechanism, tariffs will be generally lifted for goods entering Hengqin from Macau, while goods moving from Hengqin to elsewhere in the mainland will now be subject to import duties, if they are not eligible for added-value tax exemption.
Similar tax exemptions also apply to luggage and parcels entering Hengqin from Macau.
The new policy is seen as a major arrangement to enrich the practice of “One Country, Two Systems” in Macau and boost the MSAR’s economic diversification.
“The new policy will effectively facilitate the flow of goods, personnel, capital and information between Hengqin and Macau, and create valuable new space for Macau’s new industries and business forms,” said Lei Wai Nong, director of the zone’s executive committee. Lei is the secretary for economy and finance of the MSAR.
In 2021, the central authorities decided to establish the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and develop the island into an important new growth point for Macau’s economy.
At the end of last year, there were 11,500 Macau residents working or living in Hengqin, an annual increase of over 70 percent, according to the zone’s statistics bureau.
– Xinhua, MPD
