Kunming Area of China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone Sets a New Benchmark for Open Development

Early morning in Mohan. As the border gates just opened, the Lancang-Mekong Express loaded with Thai durians glided gently into Mohan Railway Port, where refrigerated containers began transshipment. A few kilometers away at the highway port, in front of the entry-exit checkpoint widened to 12 lanes, a truck driver handed over his documents and received his release slip just four minutes later. Via the China-Laos Railway — this "golden corridor" — durians travel from Thai orchards to Kunming markets in only three days.

The Lancang-Mekong Express loaded with Thai durians.

On August 30, 2019, the Kunming Area of China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the "Kunming Area") was officially inaugurated. In April 2022, the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government decided that Kunming would administer Mohan Town in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture on a trusteeship basis to jointly build an international port city; formal trusteeship took effect in May of that year. Since then, Kunming has become the only provincial capital city in China with a border line and border ports, and the only city combining the advantages of four zones—the pilot free trade zone, the national-level economic and technological development zone, the comprehensive bonded zone, and the cross-border economic cooperation zone. The Kunming Area is the open platform that concentrates this unique advantage.

Breaking Down Institutional Barriers: Playing the "One Game" of Open Development

Aerial View of Mohan

Mohan has "ports but lacks industry," while Kunming has "industry but lacks a port." This is the real-world challenge that the "Four-Zone Linkage" must solve. After Kunming took over the trusteeship of Mohan, the key to unlocking this challenge was found.

Rather than simply superimposing the policies of the four zones, Kunming has used flexible policy combinations such as "1+1" and "2+1" to promote industrial agglomeration in the economic development zone, policy pioneering in the pilot free trade zone, cost savings in the comprehensive bonded zone, and integrated customs facilitation in the cross-border cooperation zone, forming a development pattern of "more, faster, better, and cost-effective" outcomes and "3+1 > 4."

The first barrier to fall was the institutional "wall." In August 2024, Several Measures of Kunming Municipality for Promoting the "Four-Zone" Linkage Development was issued and implemented, with the provincial support plan and the 15 municipal measures forming a policy matrix. In the past, enterprises registered in Mohan but operating in Kunming often had to travel back and forth between the two locations. Today, the "Kunming-Mohan Cross-Zone Connect" government service relay model, jointly launched by the Kunming Area and the China-Laos Mohan-Moding Economic Cooperation Zone (hereinafter referred to as the "Mohan-Moding Cooperation Zone"), enables cross-region document reception, local approval, relay processing, and on-site certificate issuance. By the end of 2025, the two sides had launched 29 "cross-zone interconnected services," with 40 approval items achieving "one-stop online handling" and "inter-provincial handling."

"I thought it would take at least a month, but I received my business license in just three working days," said Qiu Na, legal representative of Yunnan Jiuhuayuan Import & Export Co., Ltd. On December 15, 2022, the first business license under Kunming's trusteeship was issued at the government service center of the Mohan-Moding Cooperation Zone. Since then, the pace of Kunming-Mohan coordination has accelerated, with cross-zone services covering a growing range of businesses.

Over seven years, the edge of reform has been honed ever finer. With the opening of the Kunming-Mohan patent pre-examination channel, the patent pre-examination cycle has been shortened to three to four days, a 90% reduction from before. In August 2026, the Implementation Plan for Full Coverage of "One License, Multiple Sites" Record-Registration in the Kunming Area of China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Kunming Economic and Technological Development Zone, the Kunming Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and the Mohan-Moding Cooperation Zone was officially released. The reform has expanded from a two-zone pilot to the full territory of the "four zones," allowing multi-site operations and region-wide access under a single business license.

On the industrial front, Kunming has taken the Kunming Area as the lead to push all open platforms to "act in concert," delivering a "combination punch" of investment attraction across five major industrial chains. The economic development zone is absorbing industrial transfers in equipment manufacturing, biomedicine, and modern logistics; the Kunming Area is focusing on cutting-edge technology, emerging business formats, and international cooperation; the Mohan-Moding Cooperation Zone is strengthening cross-border trade, tourism and healthcare, and production-capacity cooperation; and the comprehensive bonded zone is bolstering bonded processing, bonded maintenance, and cross-border e-commerce support. Together, they form a trade closed loop of "front port, back warehouse."

The Hudian Lingang Kunming Science and Technology City, which opened in December 2023, epitomizes this industrial collaboration. The park has signed agreements with more than 40 enterprises, with cumulative investment-attraction area exceeding 100,000 square meters and 144 enterprises registered in clusters. "Bringing enterprises in is only the first step; helping them take root and grow strong is the real test of skill," said Qi Longjun, General Manager of Yunnan Hudian Lingang Kunming Science and Technology City Industrial Development Co., Ltd.

Hudian Lingang Kunming Science and Technology City

In terms of corridors, leveraging the China-Laos Railway as a "golden corridor," the Kunming Area was selected as one of the country's second batch of China-Europe (Asia) international railway train assembly centers, and Wangjiaying West Station was approved as the only overland departure port with tax-refund qualification in the province. After comprehensive upgrading of Mohan Port, the entry-exit checkpoint was widened from 4 lanes to 12, and the inspection and release time for freight vehicles was compressed to four minutes; customs clearance time at the railway port was reduced from 40 hours to 5 hours, and the highway port's throughput capacity leapt from 600,000 tonnes to 13 million tonnes.

Gathering Momentum and Rising: Turning Open Dividends into Developmental Strength

Seven years on, the Kunming Area has built up a solid foundation.

From 2019 to 2024, the number of newly registered enterprises in the Kunming Area grew by 2.6 times, foreign-invested enterprises by 1.6 times, total foreign trade import and export volume by 4.8 times, and actually utilized foreign capital by 1.1 times. The implementation rate of the 94 reform pilot tasks assigned by the State Council reached 100%, with 257 institutional innovation achievements accumulated, 16 of which were national firsts. Since its establishment, cumulative actually utilized foreign investment reached US$836 million, and cumulative total trade import and export volume reached 201.153 billion yuan.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Kunming Area's GDP exceeded 60 billion yuan, and the number of market entities surpassed 108,000, more than tripling from the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan. Among these market entities, 63,000 are enterprises. This figure consistently ranks in the top tier among development zones across the province. The trucks moving through the parks, the office lights burning late into the night, and the queue-number screens in government service halls are all the most vivid "footnotes" to this solid foundation.

"Once you locate in the economic development zone, you can quickly build a full-chain supply system integrating domestic production, cross-border circulation, and hot sales in ASEAN markets," said Chen Ruibin, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Kunming Economic and Technological Development Zone (the Kunming Area) and the Mohan-Moding Cooperation Zone, at the "Invest in Yunnan · Focus on the Development Zone" online investment promotion event.

Kunming Economic and Technological Development Zone (Kunming Area of China Pilot Free Trade Zone)

Since its establishment, the industrial level of the Kunming Area has steadily risen. In 2025, the operating revenue of "above-scale" enterprises reached 266 billion yuan, and the gross industrial output above designated size reached 50.3 billion yuan. There are 12 national-level specialized, sophisticated, unique, and innovative "little giant" enterprises, 188 provincial-level specialized and sophisticated SMEs, and 380 high-tech enterprises, all ranking first among development zones in the province. The biomedicine and health industry posted revenue of 27 billion yuan in 2025, and the advanced equipment manufacturing sector reached an output value of 10.2 billion yuan.

Corridor traffic is translating into economic increments. In 2025, the China-Laos Railway carried 19.51 million passengers and 24.48 million tonnes of freight, up 24.6% year on year. Freight categories expanded to more than 4,000, radiating to 19 countries and regions. Mohan Railway Port has become China's largest railway port facing ASEAN. In 2025, the Kunming Area's fruit import and export volume reached 3.468 billion yuan, up 206.82% year on year; fresh durian imports alone reached 3.16 billion yuan, up 245.1% year on year, and the durian trade scale is expected to exceed 3 billion yuan in 2026. The cross-border e-commerce 9710 model landed in Mohan, with the first consignment cleared in just six hours. In 2025, the Kunming Area's total import and export volume reached 16.01 billion yuan, up 136.9% year on year.

Another report card is written in the border villages. Since Kunming took over trusteeship, Mohan has completed cumulative investment of over 16 billion yuan, and its population has grown from 20,000 to over 40,000. Fixed-asset investment, general public budget revenue, funds from outside the province in place, and permanent population have all doubled. A total of 65 projects have been landed; the Nanpo International Industrial Cooperation Zone has secured 25 industrial projects with a total investment of approximately 5.754 billion yuan. Six modern border happy villages have been built, with the highest annual collective economic income reaching 1.223 million yuan—more than 12 times that before trusteeship. The per capita annual net income of residents in Manzhuang Village rose from less than 18,000 yuan in 2022 to 28,000 yuan in 2025.

"Young people who went away to work now have jobs to come back to," said Chen Quanwu, Party General Branch Secretary and Village Committee Director of Manzhuang Village. Through "village-enterprise linkage" and other means participating in cross-border industries, border residents are enjoying more development dividends from opening up.

Sanlian Garment Co., Ltd., a company from Fujian Province, went from deciding to build a factory to trial production in just over 20 days. Inside the production workshop, six garment processing lines are already in operation, with employees working overtime to make inner linings for outdoor jackets. "The first phase plans an investment of 330 million yuan, and annual output value can reach 1 billion yuan once at full capacity," said Liu Xiuwen, the company's HR and Administration Director. Choosing Mohan was driven precisely by its locational advantage connected to the China-Laos Railway: "Products can be exported by rail to Laos and then radiate to South and Southeast Asian markets."

Production line of Sanlian Garment Co., Ltd. settled in the Nanpo International Industrial Demonstration Park.

The effects of Kunming's "Four-Zone Linkage" extend beyond domestic ports, radiating deep into Laos along the China-Laos Railway. As China's only national-level overseas economic and trade cooperation zone in Laos, the Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone now hosts 120 enterprises. Laos' Pasaxon (People's Newspaper) once devoted a full page to praising this collaborative opening-up model as injecting accelerated momentum into the Belt and Road Initiative.

Full-page report on Page 7 of Laos' Pasaxon (People's Newspaper)

Forging Ahead Toward the New: Building a "New Highland" for Border Opening-Up

In June 2026, the Development Plan for the Kunming Metropolitan Area received written approval from the National Development and Reform Commission and was issued and implemented by the Yunnan Provincial Government, elevating the Kunming Metropolitan Area to the rank of national-level metropolitan area. The Plan calls for promoting the linkage development of the "four zones"—the Kunming Area of the pilot free trade zone, the Kunming Economic and Technological Development Zone, the Kunming Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and the Mohan-Moding Cooperation Zone—and encourages in-depth alignment and deeper cooperation between the pilot free trade zone and other development and opening platforms, creating a batch of linkage innovation zones and coordinated development zones within the metropolitan area to amplify the radiating and spillover effects of the pilot free trade zone.

Meanwhile, the Regulations of China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone came into force on September 1, 2025, for the first time codifying and implementing the national "FTZ upgrading strategy" through local legislation. In accordance with the Regulations, the Kunming Area will focus on developing high-end manufacturing, aviation logistics, the digital economy, and headquarters economy, and build itself into an interconnectivity hub, an information and logistics center, and a cultural and educational center facing South and Southeast Asia.

Mohan Railway Station

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan, the Kunming Area will fully implement the FTZ upgrading strategy, build the Kunming International Land Port to high standards, accelerate the development of the two-way logistics system of "Wangjiaying cargo consolidation – Mohan customs clearance," speed up the establishment of the Kunming International Data Exchange, and lay out emerging and future industries in optoelectronics, hydrogen energy, the low-altitude economy, and low-orbit satellite constellations. Shanghai-Yunnan industrial collaboration will continue to deepen; relying on the Shanghai-Yunnan "16+16" key park cooperation platform, with the Hudian Lingang Kunming Science and Technology City as the core carrier, collaboration will be expanded in depth, and the Science and Technology City aims to add 80,000 square meters of newly signed area in 2026.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan, the Mohan-Moding Cooperation Zone will pursue the main line of "port quality improvement, corridor expansion, industrial agglomeration, and rule alignment," promoting deep integration of logistics, processing, trade, finance, and data in the port area.

According to reports, in 2026 a batch of new standardized factory buildings will be completed and put into operation in the Nanpo International Industrial Cooperation Zone, with 49 new projects planned to start construction, and the zone striving to achieve the customs-sealed trial operation of the enclosed area. After the first phase of the highway port comprehensive upgrading project is fully operational, the freight inspection checkpoint will expand to 12 freight lanes, increasing customs clearance capacity by two to three times. The cooperation zone will be upgraded from a southwest gateway to an important node radiating across the Indian Ocean Rim.

From "single-zone trial" at the time of establishment to today's "four-zone linkage," the results of seven years of cultivation are already written into the whistles of Mohan Port at dawn, the freight trains shuttling along the China-Laos Railway, and the income-growing ledgers of border village residents. The value of an open platform never lies in the number of plaques, but in whether it can truly clear blockages, activate factors of production, and benefit people's lives. This 76-square-kilometer reform test field is advancing in step with the border port over 600 kilometers away, bravely standing at the forefront of the wave of border opening-up, continuously setting a new benchmark for open development facing South and Southeast Asia, and fulfilling its original mission of "testing institutions for the nation and seeking development for the region." (Correspondents: Li Wei, Gou Tingting)

自贸试验区昆明片区打造开放发展新标杆

清晨的磨憨，国门刚开。满载泰国榴莲的“澜湄快线”列车缓缓停靠磨憨铁路口岸，冷链集装箱开始换装；数公里外的公路口岸，拓宽至12车道的出入境卡口前，货车司机把证件递出去，4分钟后就拿到了放行单。依托中老铁路这条“黄金大通道”，榴莲从泰国果园到昆明市场，全程只需3天。

2019年8月30日，中国（云南）自由贸易试验区昆明片区（以下简称“昆明片区”）挂牌。2022年4月，云南省委、省政府决定由昆明市托管西双版纳州磨憨镇共建国际口岸城市，当年5月正式托管。自此，昆明成为全国唯一拥有边境线和边境口岸的省会城市，同时成为全国唯一叠加自贸试验区、国家级经开区、综合保税区、跨境经济合作区“四区”优势的城市，昆明片区则是这一优势集中承载的开放平台。

制度破壁 下好开放发展“一盘棋”

磨憨“有口岸、缺产业”，昆明“有产业、缺口岸”，这是“四区联动”要破解的现实考题。昆明托管磨憨后，这道考题有了破题的钥匙。

昆明没有将“四区”政策简单硬性叠加，而是以“1+1”“2+1”等灵活政策组合，推动经开区产业聚集、自贸试验区政策先行、综保区成本节约、跨境合作区通关便利优势集成，形成“多快好省”“3+1＞4”的发展格局。

最先被打通的，是制度上的“墙”。2024年8月，《昆明市推动“四区”联动发展若干措施》印发实施，省级支持方案与市级15条措施构成政策矩阵。过去，注册在磨憨、运营在昆明的企业，往往要两地奔波；如今，昆明片区与中国老挝磨憨—磨丁经济合作区（以下简称“磨憨—磨丁合作区”）联动推出的“昆磨跨区通”政务接力联办模式，实现异地收件、属地审批、接力办理、在地发证。截至2025年底，两地推出的“跨区通办”事项已达29项，40项审批事项实现“一网通办”“跨省通办”。

“我以为最起码要一个月，没想到3个工作日就收到了营业执照。”云南九华源进出口有限公司法定代表人仇娜说。自2022年12月15日在磨憨—磨丁合作区政务服务中心开出昆明托管后首张营业执照，昆磨协同的步伐加快，跨区通办覆盖业务越来越多。

7年里，改革的刀刃越切越细。随着昆磨专利预审通道打通，专利预审周期缩短为三到四天，较以往缩短90%。2026年8月，《中国（云南）自由贸易试验区昆明片区、昆明经济技术开发区、昆明综合保税区、磨憨—磨丁合作区开展“一照多址”备案登记全覆盖工作实施方案》正式发布，改革从两区试点扩容至“四区”全域，一张营业执照即可多点经营、全域通行。

产业方面，昆明市以昆明片区为牵引，推动各开放平台“组团”发力，打出五大产业链招商“组合拳”。经开区承接装备制造、生物医药、现代物流等产业转移，昆明片区聚焦前沿科技、新兴业态、国际合作，磨憨—磨丁合作区强化跨境贸易、旅游康养、产能合作，综保区加强保税加工、保税维修、跨境电商支撑，形成“前岸后仓”贸易闭环。

2023年12月开园的沪滇临港昆明科技城，是这场产业协作的缩影。园区已与40余家企业签约，累计招商面积超10万平方米，144家企业集群注册。“把企业引进来只是第一步，让它们扎下根、长得壮，才是真功夫。”云南沪滇临港昆明科技城产业发展有限公司总经理祁龙军说。

通道方面，依托中老铁路“黄金大通道”，昆明片区入选国家第二批中欧（亚）国际班列集结中心，王家营西站获批全省唯一的陆路启运港退税资质。磨憨口岸综合提升改造后，出入境卡口由4车道拓宽至12车道，货运车辆验放时间压缩至4分钟；铁路口岸货物通关时间由40小时压缩至5小时，公路口岸通关能力由60万吨跃升至1300万吨。

聚势跃升 开放红利转化为发展胜势

7年过去，昆明片区攒下了一份厚实的家底。

从2019年到2024年，昆明片区新注册企业增长2.6倍，外资企业增长1.6倍，外贸进出口额增长4.8倍，实际利用外资增长1.1倍；国务院赋予的94项改革试点任务实施率100%，累计形成制度创新成果257项、其中16项全国首创；挂牌至今累计实际使用外资8.36亿美元，累计完成贸易进出口总额2011.53亿元。

“十四五”期间，昆明片区地区生产总值超600亿元，经营主体突破10.8万户、较“十三五”末增长超3倍。经营主体里，企业有6.3万户。这个数字放在全省开发区里看，常年排在第一梯队。园区里跑动的货车、写字楼里亮到深夜的灯、政务大厅里排队叫号的屏幕，都是这份家底最生动的“注脚”。

“落地经开，即可快速搭建国内生产、跨境流通、东盟热销的全链条供应链体系。”在“投资云南·聚力经开”线上招商引资专场活动中，昆明经开区（自贸试验区昆明片区）、磨憨—磨丁合作区党工委书记陈瑞斌这样说道。

自挂牌以来，昆明片区产业能级稳步跃升。2025年，“四上企业”营业收入达2660亿元，规上工业总产值503亿元；国家级专精特新“小巨人”企业12家、省级专精特新中小企业188家、高新技术企业380家，均居全省开发区首位；生物医药及大健康产业2025年营收达270亿元，先进装备制造产值102亿元。

通道流量正在变成经济增量。2025年，中老铁路发送旅客1951万人次，货物运输量2448万吨、同比增长24.6%，货运品类拓展至4000余种、辐射19个国家和地区。磨憨铁路口岸成为我国面向东盟最大的铁路口岸。2025年，昆明片区水果进出口额达34.68亿元、同比增长206.82%，其中鲜榴莲进口额31.6亿元、同比增长245.1%；2026年榴莲贸易规模预计突破30亿元。跨境电商9710落地磨憨，首单仅用6小时通关。2025年，昆明片区进出口总额达160.1亿元，同比增长136.9%。

另一份成绩单，写在边境村寨。昆明托管以来，磨憨累计完成投资超160亿元，人口从2万人增至4万余人，固定资产投资、一般公共预算收入、引进省外到位资金、常住人口实现“四个翻番”；累计推动65个项目落地，南坡国际产业合作区落地产业类项目25个、总投资约57.54亿元。6个现代化边境幸福村建成，村集体经济年收入最高达122.3万元、是托管前的12倍多；曼庄村村民人均年收入从2022年的不足1.8万元提高到2025年的2.8万元。

“外出务工的年轻人回乡也有活干。”曼庄村党总支书记、村委会主任陈全武说，通过“村企联动”等方式参与跨境产业，边民在开放中享受到更多发展红利。

来自福建的三连制衣有限公司，从决定设厂到试生产仅用了20多天。生产车间内，6条成衣加工生产线已经投产，员工正加紧制作冲锋衣内胆。“一期计划投资3.3亿元，达产后年产值可达10亿元。”该企业人事行政总监刘秀文说，选择落户磨憨，看中的正是这里连接中老铁路的区位优势，“产品可以经铁路出口老挝，再辐射南亚东南亚市场”。

昆明“四区联动”的效应并不止于境内口岸，更沿着中老铁路向老挝纵深辐射。作为中国在老挝唯一的国家级境外经贸合作区，万象赛色塔综合开发区目前已入驻企业120家。老挝《人民报》曾整版刊文，点赞这一协同开放模式为“一带一路”建设注入了加速度。

向新图强 打造沿边开放“新高地”

2026年6月，《昆明都市圈发展规划》获国家发展改革委函复同意，并由云南省政府印发实施，昆明都市圈跻身国家级都市圈行列。《规划》明确，推动自贸试验区昆明片区、昆明经开区、昆明综保区、磨憨—磨丁合作区“四区”联动发展，鼓励自贸试验区与其他开发开放平台深度对接、深化合作，在都市圈内打造一批联动创新区和协同发展区，放大自贸试验区辐射和溢出效应。

与此同时，《中国（云南）自由贸易试验区条例》自2025年9月1日起施行，首次将国家“自贸提升战略”以地方立法形式予以固化和落实。按照《条例》，昆明片区重点发展高端制造、航空物流、数字经济、总部经济等产业，建设面向南亚东南亚的互联互通枢纽、信息物流中心和文化教育中心。

围绕“十五五”，昆明片区将全面实施自贸试验区提升战略，高标准建设昆明国际陆港，加快构建“王家营集货—磨憨通关”双向物流体系，加快建设昆明国际数据交易所，并围绕光电、氢能、低空经济、低轨卫星星座等领域布局新兴产业与未来产业。沪滇产业协作将继续深化，依托沪滇“16+16”重点园区合作共建工作平台，以沪滇临港昆明科技城为核心载体拓展协作深度，科技城2026年力争新增签约面积8万平方米。

磨憨—磨丁合作区“十五五”将以“口岸提质、通道扩容、产业集聚、规则对接”为主线，推动物流、加工、贸易、金融、数据在口岸区域深度融合。

据介绍，2026年，南坡国际产业合作区将有一批新的标准化厂房建成投产，计划新开工项目49个，力争实现围网区封关试运行；公路口岸综合提升改造一期项目全面投入使用后，货运查验卡口将增至12个货运通道，通关能力提升2至3倍。合作区将从西南门户升级为辐射环印度洋区域的重要节点。

从挂牌时的“单区试水”到如今的“四区联动”，七年耕耘的成效，早已写进磨憨口岸清晨的汽笛声里、写在中老铁路往返的货列上、写进沿边村寨群众的增收账里。开放平台的价值，从来不在于牌子的多少，而在于能否真正打通堵点、激活要素、惠及民生。这片76平方公里的改革试验田，正与600余公里外的国门口岸同频共进，在沿边开放的浪潮中勇立潮头，持续打造面向南亚东南亚的开放发展新标杆，践行着“为国家试制度、为地方谋发展”的初心使命。（通讯员李伟 苟廷廷）