Beijing builds China’s first cultural bonded zone

Beijing (CNS) -- The Beijing International Cultural Trade Service Center is slated to become China's first cultural bonded zone and the largest cultural product trading market in Asia. Its foundation stone was laid in a ceremony on Sunday, marking the start of a gradual two-year ascent into full operation.

The state foreign cultural trade base is expected to provide a bonded service platform for domestic and foreign cultural production, transmission and trade organizations. Services will cover exhibitions, promotions, warehousing, logistics functions and other forms of trade facilitation for cultural products and programs.

Located in the Beijing Tianzhu Free Trade Zone (BTFTZ) adjacent to the Capital Airport and wielding a budget of more than five billion yuan (US$ 792.4 million), the cultural bonded zone project is cooperatively managed by the BTFTZ administrative committee and the Beijing Gehua Cultural Development Group.

Zhao Shaohua, vice minister of culture, attended the opening ceremony. The formal address was made by Lu Wei, vice mayor of Beijing and director of the municipal publicity department.

The construction of a logistics park to serve as the capital airport airfreight base was launched on the same day, mainly for the biomedicine and aviation supplies industries. The bonded park will provide one-stop customs clearance.