Guangdong Province is set to introduce a series of optimization measures in 2026, focusing on business regulations, shopping, and taxation to significantly improve convenience for foreign nationals working and living in the region. The announcement was made at a press conference held in the capital city, Guangzhou, on February 2, themed around optimizing the business environment.
Press conference on Feb. 2
Fully Align with Global Standards in Sharpening Guangdong's Business Edge
To sharpen its global competitive edge, Guangdong is aligning with World Bank business environment standards by streamlining enterprise registration through intelligent processing, according to the press conference. This enables instant online business setup and adopts internationally recognized practices.
Furthermore, the province will capitalize on its national pilot experience by expanding the cross-border trade facilitation action plan to more cities.
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport's cargo terminal, for example, will undergo smart upgrades, enabling qualified imported goods to be cleared within 24 hours and exported goods to enjoy "direct loading upon arrival."
Notably, Guangdong is set to host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November 2026. On February 1, the first official event of the APEC "China Year" was launched, kicking off approximately 300 planned activities. Guangdong will leverage the APEC Economic Leaders' Meetings to further elevate its business environment to new heights, as revealed in the press conference.
To Make Foreigners Willing to Come, Choose to Stay, and Enjoy Shopping
In 2026, Guangdong will launch multilingual services at selected government service windows, install foreign-language signage in key public areas, and promote more international communities, schools, hospitals, and talent hubs for expats.
Shopping is another key area of focus. In 2025, Guangdong saw a fourfold increase in tax-refund shops for departing travelers, adding over 3,000 new outlets. Additionally, more than 600 "instant refund" stores and two new downtown duty-free shops were established. The total sales from tax-refundable and duty-free shopping in the province reached approximately 6.8 billion yuan, reflecting a 17% year-on-year growth.
In 2026, Guangdong aims to increase the number of tax-refund shops for departing travelers by 80%. Downtown duty-free shops in Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be open to online reservations to allow online orders and port pickups of goods.
Themed duty-free experience zones will also be set up in core commercial districts in the province, where premium "Made in Guangdong" products such as robotics and smart appliances, as well as cultural and creative items like Canton embroidery and Duan inkstones (a kind of high-quality ink-slab made in Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province), will be featured as core categories of duty-free and tax-refundable shopping.
To streamline tax refunds and payments, the customs verification time for departing travelers will also be cut to under five minutes, and the application of digital RMB will be encouraged in more cross-border consumption scenarios.
Furthermore, 53 provincial-level characteristic pedestrian streets will be equipped with multilingual shopping guides and international signage, while key departing ports will install multilingual smart navigation screens to ensure overseas visitors' convenience in their stay and shopping in Guangdong.
Reporter | Huang Xinyi
Photo | Southcn.com, Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce
