by Xinhua writers Ren Jun and Dai Mingxuan
BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Nestled around the Beijing Daxing International Airport, a dynamic economic zone known as Beijing Daxing Airport City (BDAC) is rapidly taking shape, with logistics parks, high-end manufacturers, R&D centers and residential communities sprouting up.
Just seven years into operation, Daxing airport, Beijing's youngest airport, has grown into one of China's largest and busiest aviation hubs. By 2025, its annual passenger throughput had surpassed the 50-million threshold.
But the vision there extends far beyond the runway. Beijing has its sights set higher, aiming to harness the airport's unparalleled connectivity to build a world-class aerotropolis economy.
Unlike traditional industrial parks, an aerotropolis is a metropolitan subregion whose infrastructure, land use and economy are centered around an airport, making it a natural magnet for time-sensitive suppliers, multimodal logistics operators, and other airport-dependent businesses.
"Historically, Shannon Airport in Ireland and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands have served as models in translating air traffic into economic gains. Our goal is to develop BDAC into a new-era benchmark," said Deng Chao, deputy general manager of Beijing New Aerotropolis Holdings Group Co., Ltd., which has spearheaded the zone's development since 2012.
"We are building the aerotropolis economy the 'Daxing way,' by bringing in industries that are both vibrant and well-aligned with the region's strengths. Aviation-related businesses, logistics, low-altitude technologies and bioscience are topping the list," said Deng, adding that a civil aviation innovation center and a flight-related data center are also in the pipeline.
Logistics and warehousing lie at the heart of BDAC's blueprint. The zone is already home to the regional logistics headquarters of SF Express, China's major logistic company, as well as the first all-category bonded warehouse of JD.com, one of the country's largest online retailers.
A comprehensive bonded zone, situated right at the doorstep of the airport, serves as a core driver of BDAC's high-quality growth, backed by a wide array of preferential policies.
Concare, a company specializing in cold-chain logistics for life sciences, built a giant pharmaceutical warehouse in the bonded zone last year.
Through a dedicated corridor that connects the airport directly to the zone, bypassing conventional checkpoints, cargo can move from runway to warehouses in the zone in just minutes. "It's incredibly convenient and saves us a tremendous amount of time," said Zhou Le, operations director of Beijing Concare Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Pointing to shelves stacked with imported medicines, Zhou noted that thanks to facilitation measures including pre-review of filing documentation for imported drugs, customs clearance filing, sampling and inspection for imported drugs can now be completed in as little as 24 hours, a dramatic reduction from the previous processing time of around 10 days. "The streamlined biopharma import procedures here have been a huge boost for our business," he said.
A comprehensive bonded zone is a customs-supervised area with streamlined clearance procedures. Foreign goods may enter the zone without paying duties and remain bonded, while manufacturing and trade activities within the zone are exempt from value-added and sales taxes.
Innovative drug developers are also drawn to the bonded zone, eager to cash in on preferential policies to reduce early-stage R&D costs.
"Thanks to the bonded zone's policy framework, we enjoy tax rebates on imported reagents and equipment, as well as lab construction, a significant saving for us as a startup with our products still in preclinical stages," said Liu Tongri, founder and CEO of Beijing Essentia Bioscience, a company focused on human pluripotent stem cell-derived islet therapy.
Beyond cargo, technology and capital, BDAC's airport-driven economy now features robust data flow development. Notably, the zone is home to China's first public cross-border data compliance platform and service center.
"Since 2021, we have handled 161 data transfer cases for 128 companies, including foreign-invested enterprises like Bayer, Samsung, Marriott and American Express, as well as Chinese companies going global like Meituan and Alibaba," said Sun Bao, operating director of the BDAC Service Station under Beijing Cross-Border Data Service Center.
In 2024, China's cyberspace administration authorities introduced a regulation on promoting and standardizing cross-border flows of data, which clarifies declaration standards for the assessment of cross-border data security and scenarios that are exempt from relevant security appraisals.
"Backed by government agencies, we have made breakthroughs in addressing compliance bottlenecks and streamlining evaluation and filing, so as to simplify international data transfers and reduce costs for businesses," Sun explained.
After years of development, BDAC is fast emerging as a hub for cross-border e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, aviation supplies and international logistics. To date, the zone, situated at the junction of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, all in north China, has built 1.76 million square meters of industrial facilities and attracted more than 8,000 business entities.
Across China, the aerotropolis economy is gaining strong momentum. A study by the Civil Aviation University of China shows that aviation-linked economies are expanding faster than the national average.
From the City Lounge atop BDAC's CBD area, the entire zone unfolds like a living canvas, with the star-shaped Daxing airport gleaming at its center.
"Can you believe it? Just 10 years ago, the tallest building in Lixian Town, right where we're standing, was only four stories high," Deng said.
"Today, every day brings new construction, new progress and new energy. For many, this is where opportunity takes flight," he added. ■
