China’s cross-border trade facilitation action yields positive outcomes

China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced on Thursday that the five-month 2024 cross-border trade facilitation action has yielded significant results. According to China Central Television (CCTV), an initiative launched on 21st March 2024, seeks to enhance the business environment at ports. This initiative aims to strengthen the foundations of China's foreign trade and investment while preserving its position as the world's largest trader of goods. The initiative was implemented in 20 major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, among others. Since the action's launch, customs in cities such as Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province and Haikou in south China's Hainan Province have slashed the approval time for food inspection and quarantine by more than 70 percent for compliant businesses. In addition, customs authorities in east China's Nanjing and Hefei have introduced green channels for perishable agricultural products, enabling a 24/7 appointment system that greatly enhances clea rance efficiency. "Following the reforms in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, such as the combined port and one port pass programs, major ports have reduced the average cargo dwell time from five-seven days to just two days," said Dang Xiaohong, deputy director of the GAC Department of Port Control. The Guangdong Provincial Department of Commerce reported that innovative inspection processes now allow personnel to complete border checks between Zhuhai city in Guangdong and Macao in a mere 10 seconds. At the Gongbei Port of Zhuhai and the Zhuhai port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the previous manual inspection process has been upgraded to an automatic release system, improving efficiency by approximately 30 percent. "The joint inspection agencies at the Zhuhai-Macao border now share vehicle information collection devices, allowing vehicles to stop just once to complete simultaneous inspections for both regions," said He Jun, deputy director of the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Pr ovince. Source: Emirates News Agency