China's domestically developed and constructed LNG carrier, the Dapeng Princess, successfully docked at the Sinopec Qingdao LNG Receiving Terminal in the Dongjiakou Economic Zone on the morning of July 23 under the supervision of Qingdao Customs. With the injection of its 78,000 cubic meters of bonded liquefied natural gas into the nation's largest single bonded storage facility, Shandong Province officially completed its first bonded natural gas transaction.

The bonded natural gas initiative enables effective integration of both domestic and international markets and resources, making it a key strategy for extending the LNG industrial chain, expanding natural gas operations, and supporting regional economic development. To ensure the smooth entry of this inaugural bonded shipment, the Dongjiakou Economic Zone Administrative Committee and Dongjiakou Port Customs formed a joint task force with participating enterprises. Confronted with tight timelines, heavy workloads, and no prior precedent, the team efficiently coordinated all procedural and qualification reviews, and meticulously developed a full-cycle compliance plan—covering vessel berthing, bonded gas storage, and future re-export and outbound transportation. This effort has laid a strong foundation for future expansion into bonded LNG bunkering, gas trial cooling, and transhipment trade.

The Qingdao LNG Receiving Terminal is China's only bonded LNG storage and transportation hub equipped with dual-berth docking facilities, capable of accommodating LNG vessels with capacities ranging from 30,000 to 270,000 cubic meters. As a customs-supervised international transit point, it allows enterprises to defer payment of duties and value-added tax through bonded warehousing, offering the flexibility to choose between international re-export or domestic sales—supporting a trade strategy that allows businesses to import goods into bonded storage without immediate taxes, giving them the freedom to later export or sell domestically based on market conditions. Since the beginning of the year, the Receiving Terminal has actively introduced a range of innovative services, including gas trial operations, LNG bunkering, and technical exports. This includes signing a strategic cooperation agreement with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) for coordinated newbuild and repair services for LNG vessels and also reaching preliminary bonded transhipment agreements with several international energy companies.