On February 26, 2025 (Wednesday), a drone carrying cross-border e-commerce imported goods took off from the second-floor platform of Guangzhou Huangpu Comprehensive Bonded Zone’s cross-border e-commerce supervision center. It delivered packages to consumers at the zone’s Cross-Border Direct Purchase Store in just three minutes, marking a significant milestone in integrating “low-altitude economy” with cross-border e-commerce.
This initiative exemplifies the fusion of new productive forces and emerging industries. The Huangpu Customs has supported Huangpu Comprehensive Bonded Zone in pioneering drone deliveries for cross-border e-commerce imports. In 2024, the district’s first bonded direct purchase store project was launched, adopting a “front-store, back-warehouse” model that directly connects physical retail spaces with large-scale bonded storage facilities.
Consumers can experience “offline shopping, online ordering, and rapid delivery” by placing orders through the store’s digital platform. After customs clearance and packaging at the bonded warehouse, drones transport goods directly to customers, enhancing the shopping experience and expanding new consumption scenarios for cross-border e-commerce. This innovation has equipped the bonded stores with the “wings” of low-altitude economy, replacing traditional delivery vehicles and accelerating the connection between “front stores” and “back warehouses.”
In 2025, Suide East Customs, under Huangpu Customs, further refined the low-altitude logistics regulatory framework in the zone. By optimizing checkpoint configurations and dedicated inspection platforms, it facilitated broader adoption and higher-quality applications of drone logistics, achieving normalized operations for “front-store, back-warehouse” drone deliveries. Consequently, drone delivery frequencies surged, with the customs-supervised cross-border import trade value rising by approximately 7% in January.
Additionally, to boost cross-border exports, Huangpu Customs pioneered a “pre-inspection, post-loading” pilot program within the zone. This allows enterprises to complete customs declaration simultaneously with warehouse loading, streamlining workflows from a sequential to a parallel process. By integrating non-intrusive inspection equipment and information-based verification, customs oversight remains effective while slashing export clearance time from four hours to near-instantaneous speeds. This achieves a balance between “effective regulation” and smooth clearance, empowering cross-border e-commerce to reach new heights.