Brent sits at $97.484/bbl; at USD/CNY 6.7125 that lands at roughly ¥4,794/t (using 7.33 bbl per tonne). The number is not for trading — it separates the tax burden of two trade paths.

Under general trade, crude clears customs duties, VAT and consumption tax, with dutiable value assessed on CIF plus allowable costs. Bonded re-export is different: the cargo never enters the territory and files no import declaration; it moves only through the customs-supervised zone ledger, so import-stage taxes are not triggered. For the same Brent cargo, general trade and bonded re-export differ precisely by that layer of tax.

The line is drawn by documents. Three-document reconciliation — contract, invoice and bill of lading that agree with one another — is unavoidable on either path. Bonded re-export is watched especially for ledger balance; title must flow cleanly on the receipt to close the loop. The digital receipt pins every title transfer with SHA-256, so when regulators check dutiable value or ownership they pull the on-chain record instead of paper files.

For a seven-grade crude re-exporter, path choice is itself margin. The lower-tax, document-clean route carries the cargo. But the floor cannot be crossed: an unbalanced ledger or mismatched documents turns bonded convenience into exposure at once. Here the digital receipt is not a gimmick — it is hard evidence that compliance can be audited.