(Yicai Global) May 7 -- Eastern China's Dongjiang Bonded Port Area has launched the nation's first international e-commerce distribution center in a bonded area in order to reduce delivery times.

The center that is built in a customs supervision area will help optimize logistics, state-owned Xinhua News agency reported, citing a person from Dongjiang's Administrative Committee. Bonded warehouses store dutiable goods that may be managed and even manufactured without paying levies. 

Parcels will be delivered to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area one day after arriving at the port. The new logistics center will decrease delivery times by 24 hours in the eastern regions of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong.

The Dongjiang Bonded Port Area will leverage bonded facilities and its free trade zone with an aim to integrate cross-border supply chains' goods, logistics and capital flows, the report added.

The number of online retail imports that the port handled last year rose 15 times from a previous year to eight million parcels. In the first quarter, orders nearly doubled from a year ago to over 2.5 million.

The harbor has partnered with e-commerce platforms including NetEase Kaola, Tmall Global and Suning Global, as well as logistics firms such as Alibaba-backed Cainiao Network Technology and SF Express.

Editor: Emmi Laine