A launch ceremony for "Li'antong", the first information platform for offshore trade examination in China, is held in Waigaoqiao Bonded Area in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone on Oct 14. [Photo/WeChat account: pdnews]

"Li'antong", the first information platform for offshore trade examination in China, was launched in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone on Oct 14.

The move is an essential step in boosting the offshore trade sector in the free trade zone and improving Shanghai's capacity of international resource allocation, officials said.

The platform, which includes a portal and five systems, will play an auxiliary role in banks' judgment on the facticity of offshore trade activities by leveraging overseas customs data, international shipping data, as well as loading and unloading information at ports.

To date, the platform has acquired customs data from 17 countries and information from 60 percent of international shipping companies and ports around the globe.

"Li'antong has made it much easier for banks to examine the facticity of the trade," said Wang Jinwen, a senior executive of the Bank of China. "It even allows us to build risk models based on intelligent analysis of historical data."

Over the past two years, offshore trade has become a new growth point for the Shanghai free trade zone.

According to the latest statistics, offshore trade conducted by companies in the bonded area of the FTZ in 2021 accounts for more than 90 percent of Shanghai's total.

The local administration has also implemented financial policies specially designed to support offshore trade, and this has significantly reduced tax costs for companies and expanded the trading scale.

Next, the FTZ will optimize the platform's functions and enrich its data resources. The platform is expected to extend its service range from Pudong district in Shanghai to the Yangtze River Delta region and even the whole country in the future.