The State Council has officially approved the establishment of a comprehensive bonded zone (CBZ) in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, according to local reports from the Shaoxing Municipal Administration of Commerce on Sept 21.

CBZs are customs-supervised zones with greater openness, more favorable policies, greater functionality, and simpler government procedures than other places in China.

The Shaoxing CBZ has been tasked with the development goal of becoming a national innovation center for the integrated circuit industry in the Yangtze River Delta region. The CBZ will focus on electronic information, new materials, bonded logistics, and bonded services.

The CBZ will be located in Shaoxing's Yuecheng district and has a planned area of 1.72 square kilometers. It has so far proposed the introduction of 16 projects focusing on integrated circuit manufacturing, cross-border e-commerce, etc. with a total expected investment of 19.96 billion yuan ($2.93 billion).