From top: The A340-600 is transferred to a bonded warehouse after its arrival at Taiyuan Wusu International Airport on Dec 24. Customs officers inspect the aircraft upon its arrival. [Photo provided to China Daily]

An A340-600 widebody aircraft landed at Taiyuan Wusu International Airport on Sunday, which was then transferred to a bonded warehouse at the Taiyuan Wusu Comprehensive Bonded Area near the airport.

The plane, imported from Thailand by Xiyouyuan Aviation Technology Group, was the first aircraft imported by a Shanxi company in the form of bonded logistics.

Bonded logistics refers to the business of warehousing, distribution, transportation, processing and other related operations conducted in customs supervision areas. These include bonded areas, bonded warehouses and customs supervision warehouses.

Business operations conducted in this form can be exempted from customs duties, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Xiyouyuan Aviation Technology Group is the only Chinese aviation maintenance and manufacturing enterprise located in a comprehensive bonded area.

Chen Jinpeng, deputy general manager of the company, said the import deal under the bonded logistics scheme has helped the company save costs of about 2.8 million yuan ($391,720) through duty exemption.

The aircraft import deal is an important move in the integration of the Wusu airport and the bonded area, which is an important part of Shanxi's plan to develop an airport economic zone and promote high-level opening-up.

Adjacent to Taiyuan Wusu International Airport, the Wusu Comprehensive Bonded Area began operations in December 2013, as the first and only comprehensive bonded area in Shanxi. It is also a part of the Shanxi Transformation and Comprehensive Reform Demonstration Zone, the largest development zone in the province.

By the end of 2022, a total of 632 enterprises were registered in the bonded area, with business operations ranging from transportation, logistics and cross-border e-commerce to advanced manufacturing and modern services.

In 2019, Xiyouyuan Aviation Technology Group launched two ventures for aviation bonded logistics and aircraft dismantling in the bonded area.

Ding Yuan contributed to this story.