Cainiao, the logistics arm of ecommece giant Alibaba is working on a ‘supply chain pilot zone’ with the Hainan government to help the southern island province develop duty-free services as it makes way to becoming a free-trade port.

As part of the partnership, the company will help establish smart logistics infrastructure on Hainan’s main and outlying islands to attract over 1,000 duty-free merchants, Cainiao announced at its Global Smart Logistics Summit on Thursday in Hangzhou.

The Alibaba logistics unit is targeting those that have yet to enter the China market, to bring imported goods, new product launches and exclusive items into Hainan for consumers to have access to goods from around the world. In June last year, Beijing released a master plan to transform the entire island province into a free trade port (FTP).

Also read: Cainiao shares Hainan plans, targets 800 cargo flights

The partnership will involve building a smart service centre and global supply chain center, which Cainiao noted will allow customers to complete their pickup at half the time it currently takes or over a minute (70 seconds).

Cainiao added that it will also upgrade its global freight network, with eyes set on expanding to over 800 international cargo flights by end 2021.

The announcement comes after the company launched seven weekly charter flights between Singapore and Hainan to support import and export merchants in the free trade zone.