On January 15, a TIR transport vehicle loaded with bonded goods departed from the Zhengzhou Xinzheng Comprehensive Bonded Zone (hereinafter referred to as ZXCBZ) in Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone (ZAEZ) after completing customs procedures, heading for Ivanovo, Russia at full speed. This marks the first "bonded + TIR" shipment dispatched from the Henan Assembly Center for International Road Transport, as well as one of the first such services nationwide.
What does the approval of TIR for bonded goods transport actually mean?
TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) is a convenient cross-border transport clearance mechanism under the UN framework. Vehicles holding a TIR Carnet can clear customs smoothly among 78 contracting parties, with inspections only required at the place of departure and destination without unpacking en route, significantly cutting down customs clearance time.
"Bonded enterprises in XCBZ now have an additional convenient and efficient overseas logistics channel besides international air transport, China-Europe freight trains, and rail-sea intermodal transport," said Ji Dakai, Senior Economic Specialist of the Port Administration Bureau of ZAEZ. Under the "bonded + TIR" model, goods can complete the full-process procedures including consolidation, warehousing and customs declaration in one stop within ZXCBZ, and reach the destination directly with a single TIR Carnet. This drastically reduces both transport time and overall logistics costs, making it particularly suitable for shipping high-value-added and time-sensitive goods such as electronic components and precision instruments.
In addition, the "bonded + TIR" model will attract enterprises with both bonded and international road transport demands to gather in the bonded zone. This will diversify the industrial ecosystem of XCBZ, promote its high-quality development, and boost the rise of Henan as a highland of opening-up.
The "bonded + TIR" model brings significant benefits to XCBZ, while the integration of bonded services will also inject impetus into the accelerated development of Henan's TIR industry.
ZAEZ is a vital birthplace and industrial highland for TIR cross-border road transport business.
On February 20, 2023, the Zhengzhou-Moscow TIR cross-border road freight route was officially launched, marking "Chinese certificates" and "Chinese vehicles" traveling abroad for the first time. This marked Henan's official opening of a "new logistics corridor across the Eurasian Continent" and China's first true realization of interconnected cross-border road transport.
In July 2024, the China-Europe Trans-Caspian Direct Express was launched. Among the five Chinese enterprises fully participating in its inaugural operation nationwide, two were from ZAEZ, placing Henan's TIR operations at the center of the international stage.
ZAEZ's TIR operations have also achieved multiple national firsts, including the first TIR shipment of over-sized cargo and the first TIR transport of fresh-cut flowers in China.
"The Henan Assembly Center for International Road Transport is generally developing well, but it faces new situations and challenges," said Ji Dakai. Uneven seasonal demand for transport capacity and a relative shortage of local cargo sources have become constraints on the development of Henan's TIR industry.
The "bonded + TIR" model may offer a new solution to these issues. In 2025, the XCBZ recorded a total import and export value exceeding 460 billion yuan, ranking among the top comprehensive bonded zones in China. Its strong demand for transport capacity can provide Henan's TIR operations with substantial and stable source of local cargo, addressing practical challenges such as difficulties in cargo organization, low supply-demand matching efficiency and high comprehensive transport costs.
Meanwhile, the model will help TIR enterprises transform from pure logistics providers into enterprises engaged in both logistics and import-export trade, expand and strengthen through "transport-trade integration", and enhance the resilience and competitiveness of industrial and supply chains.
Currently, as a key national international logistics hub, ZAEZ has opened 22 TIR routes directly connecting to 9 countries including Russia, Uzbekistan and Georgia. It has attracted 47 domestic and international TIR transport enterprises to set up operations here, providing cross-border logistics services for more than 1,300 import and export enterprises in 25 provinces and cities nationwide.
"The launch of the 'bonded + TIR' model further enriches ZAEZ's multimodal transport system encompassing air, land, digital and sea services. It not only builds an efficient channel for 'Made-in-Henan' products to reach global markets, but also facilitates the smooth entry of high-quality goods from Central Asia, Europe and other regions into Henan, providing two-way empowerment for the construction of an inland opening-up highland," said Ji Dakai. He added that ZAEZ will continue to increase international road transport routes, cultivate and expand local TIR operators, extend the "bonded + TIR" model to cross-border e-commerce and cold chain logistics, strive to create a replicable and promotable innovative model for inland international logistics, contributing more "TIR strength" to the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative through the high-quality development of port economy. (Chinese source: Henan Daily Reporter: Yang Ling, Zhao Tongzeng and Xu Cong Correspondent: Ma Lingxiao Translator: Wu Min Proofreader: Zhang Yahan)
