Cixi Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) was established in June, 2005, with the approval from the State Council.

The administrative region where it is located¡ªCixi--has typical location and industry advantages.

Lying in the center area of the Golden Economic Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Triangle in Yangtze River Delta, Cixi is close to the major cities in the area: 60 kilometers east of Cixi is Beilun Port, Ningbo; 148 kilometers north of it is Shanghai; and 138 kilometers west of it is Hangzhou.

With the construction of the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, the integration of Yangtze River Delta, with Shanghai as its leader, is accelerating. The location advantage of Cixi, which is at the south end of the bridge, is becoming increasingly evident.

With a solid foundation, the manufacturing industry in Cixi has developed strong processing and manufacturing capacities. The city is now the world¡¯s largest production base of electric iron, plastic lighter, playing cards, and healthcare products made of loofah; the largest production base of curtain cloth in Asia; and the largest production base of European style sockets, sealing member, miniature ball bearing, electronic copper strip, water-drinking machine and yarn feeder in China.

Since this year, the manufacturing of small home appliances in Cixi has witnessed a rapid development. The city now has over 1800 manufacturers of complete machines and almost 10 thousand manufacturers of accessories.

As a key region in the Industrial Zone around Hangzhou Bay as planned by Ningbo, Zhejiang, Cixi is becoming a hot spot for the next round of foreign investment.

In 2005, Cixi¡¯s actual imbursement of foreign capital ranks 4th in Zhejiang province.

Cixi Export Processing Zone is located inside Cixi Economic Development Zone (CEDZ), which boasts complete infrastructures and is suitable for the setup of large-scale industrial projects.

At present, a high-grade road net, consisting of five horizontal and seven vertical roads, has been built in CEDZ. Two transformer substations of 35,000 and 110,000 volt, a thermal power station, and a sewage disposal plant have been put into operation. A police station (fire brigade) and a post and telecommunications office have been set up and started operating. Auxiliary projects including public transportation system, sanitation services and gas storage and transportation services are under construction now.

At the same time, the application for the establishment of Hangzhou Bay New Industrial Zone International Logistics Center is also under way.

Customs supervision station will be established in the export processing zone. Isolation facilities and effective supervision and control system will be installed. The formula of ¡°enclosed area management and control at checkpoints¡± will be adopted so as to implement customs close management.

The function positioning of the export processing zone can be summed up as: emphasizing ¡°the three focuses¡± including the focus on processing, the focus on electromechanical industry and the focus on the direct export of final products; attracting investment from transnational corporations; giving full play to the advantage of strong industry supporting ability; extending the industrial chain in processing trade; and promoting the transformation and upgrading of processing trade.