China's raising the limit on cross-border online purchases, as well as expanding its list of duty-free goods starting January 1, 2019, according to a statement by the Ministry¹ of Finance on Friday.

 

中国财政部周五发布一份声明，2019年1月1日起将提高享受税收优惠政策的商品限额上限，同时将扩大免税商品名单。

 

The annual quota² on cross-border e-commerce purchases for individual buyers will be raised from 20,000 to 26,000 yuan (about 3,768 U.S. dollars). The limit on a single transaction will also be raised from 2,000 to 5,000 yuan.

 

Meanwhile, some 63 categories of products will be added to the duty-free list, covering consumer goods such as beers, electronics and healthcare products.

 

The announcement is part of the country's opening-up efforts to expand imports and upgrade domestic industries, aiming to meet the ever-growing needs of its people.

 

This July, China identified 22 cities as venues³ for comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zones in an effort to boost cross-border e-commerce. The new policy will be applied⁴ to these cities.

 

The move also echoed China's tariff⁵ reduction and customs clearance⁶ efforts. On November 1, the country cut tariffs⁷ on 1,585 items of imported goods. This September, China's custom administration also announced new measures to expedite cargo⁸ clearance and cut administrative⁹ charges to facilitate foreign trade.

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