AnaerialdronephototakenonNov.4,2023showsaviewoftheHengqinInternationalFinancialCenterinZhuhai,southChina'sGuangdongProvince.(Xinhua/LiuDawei)GUANGZHOU,March1(Xinhua)--TheislandofHengqininsouthChina'sGuangdongProvincestartedanewcustomsoperationonFridaythatallowsmostgoodstobemovedtheretax-freefromtheneighboringMacaoSpecialAdministrativeRegion(SAR).ThenewoperationbecameeffectiveatmidnightintheGuangdong-MacaoIn-depthCooperationZoneinHengqin,inthecityofZhuhai.The106-square-kilometerislandsitsbetweenMacaoandtheChinesemainland.Underthenewmechanism,tariffswillbegenerallyliftedforgoodsenteringHengqinfromMacao,whilegoodsmovingfromHengqintotheChinesemainlandwillnowbesubjecttoimportduties,iftheyarenoteligibleforadded-valuetaxexemption.SimilartaxexemptionsalsoapplytoluggageandparcelsenteringHengqinfromMacao.Thenewpolicyisseenasamajorarrangementtoenrichthepracticeof"onecountry,twosystems"inMacaoandboosttheSAR'seconomicdiversification."Thenewpolicywilleffectivelyfacilitatetheflowofgoods,personnel,capitalandinformationbetweenHengqinandMacao,andcreatevalsuablenewspaceforMacao'snewindustriesandbusinessforms,"saidLiWeinong,directorofthezone'sexecutivecommittee.In2021,China'scentralauthoritiesdecidedtobuildtheGuangdong-MacaoIn-depthCooperationZoneinHengqinandmaketheislandanimportantnewgrowthpointforMacao'seconomy.Bytheendof2023,therewere11,500MacaoresidentsworkingorlivinginHengqin,anannualincreaseofover70percent,accordingtothezone'sstatisticsbureau.■Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.