Recently, the General Administration of Customs issued its 2017 Key Tasks for Advancing the “Belt and Road” Initiative. Zhang Guangzhi, spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs, stated that in 2015 and 2016, the administration formulated 16 and 14 key tasks, respectively, to advance the “Belt and Road” Initiative, and the 2017 key tasks have now been issued and implemented. Customs authorities are continuously deepening reforms, optimizing regulatory services, and strengthening international cooperation. They are actively engaging in policy coordination, promoting infrastructure connectivity, facilitating trade, supporting financial integration, and fostering people-to-people bonds, thereby providing comprehensive support for the “Belt and Road” initiative through the advancement of these “Five Connectivities.”
I. Expanding Port Access
This includes implementing the 13th Five-Year Plan for port development and strengthening project planning in regions along the Belt and Road;
Support Yunnan, Guangxi, and other regions in innovating the “one port, multiple channels” regulatory model; create conditions for opening inland railway container terminals to foreign trade; and cooperate with neighboring countries on key ports to promote the harmonization of cross-border regulatory procedures;
Prepare for and successfully convene the 20th meeting of the Border Crossing Working Group under the Transport Subcommittee of the China-Russia Prime Ministers’ Regular Meeting Committee, the 5th meeting of the China-Vietnam Joint Committee on Cooperation in the Management of Land Border Crossings, and the 2nd meeting of the China-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation in the Management of Border Crossings, and actively promote the reaching of consensus at these meetings.
II. Focus on Institutional Development
Develop an action plan to establish a cooperative mechanism for streamlined customs clearance along the route; further advance the reform of integrated customs clearance to achieve nationwide integration by the end of the year; accelerate the development of the standard version of the “Single Window” for international trade and roll it out nationwide;
Promote the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement; in the context of comprehensive and in-depth customs reform, put into practice the Agreement’s concepts and principles regarding trade facilitation—such as fairness, transparency, simplification, and coordination—to ensure that customs reforms align with the Agreement and are consistent with WTO rules;
Sign a new round of cooperation memorandum of understanding with the People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to build the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt; continue to ensure the implementation of the new round of cooperation memorandum of understanding between the General Administration of Customs and the People’s Government of Fujian Province, as well as the 14 measures to support Fujian’s open-type economic development; and advance Fujian’s progress in building the core area of the “21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.”
III. Promoting Trade Facilitation
Support the development of major international logistics corridors, actively promote data exchange and mutual recognition of regulatory oversight for China-Europe freight trains, and enhance customs clearance efficiency throughout the entire route.
Convene the third working group meeting on “1+3” customs cooperation for the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line to broaden and deepen customs cooperation along the route. Proactively support international industrial capacity cooperation, implement regulatory measures for outbound processing, and support and encourage domestic enterprises to integrate more deeply into international industrial chains.
We will continue to advance cooperation among customs special supervision zones along the Belt and Road, creating new platforms for industrial collaboration. We will actively promote the development of the “Online Silk Road” and support cross-border e-commerce enterprises in establishing their “overseas warehouses” at logistics hubs along the route.
Expand and deepen intellectual property enforcement cooperation with customs authorities in relevant countries, vigorously advance the “Clear Wind” campaign, safeguard the international reputation of “Made in China,” and support Chinese brands in going global.
Support the implementation of the Free Trade Zone strategy; promote the establishment of electronic networks for certificates of origin with countries along the Belt and Road that have signed free trade agreements; ensure the effective implementation of existing free trade agreements, such as those between China and Switzerland and China and Australia; and explore the feasibility of establishing free trade zones with other countries along the Belt and Road.
IV. Strengthening Trade Security
Conduct in-depth research on customs efforts to safeguard trade security along the Belt and Road; continue to strengthen supply chain security cooperation with law enforcement agencies in countries along the Belt and Road, and promote the expansion of the “Goddess of Peace” joint law enforcement operation—which targets the smuggling of firearms and ammunition via postal and express delivery channels—from the Asia-Pacific region to a cross-regional joint operation encompassing the Belt and Road;
Conduct joint anti-smuggling operations with Vietnamese customs authorities along the China-Vietnam border; promote the signing of a cooperation agreement on anti-smuggling law enforcement with Czech customs; strengthen intelligence sharing, joint law enforcement, and joint counter-terrorism efforts with law enforcement agencies in countries along the route; and crack down on cross-border smuggling of drugs, firearms, endangered species, and waste, as well as commercial fraud.
V. Deepening International Cooperation
Building on bilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperation mechanisms, we will expand the influence of customs cooperation along the Belt and Road.
On the bilateral front, we will actively expand AEO mutual recognition cooperation with customs authorities in key countries along the Belt and Road, convene the 9th China-EU Joint Customs Cooperation Committee meeting, and host the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Customs Cooperation Forum;
In terms of regional cooperation, we will deepen “Belt and Road” cooperation within regional customs cooperation mechanisms such as China-ASEAN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation, the Greater Mekong Subregion, and China-Mongolia-Russia; implement cooperation agreements in areas such as risk management; strengthen practical cooperation among the customs authorities of China, Russia, and Mongolia; and support the construction of the “China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor”;
On the multilateral front, we will contribute to the overall strategic framework of the World Customs Organization (WCO), actively participate in the formulation of international customs regulations, and, within the framework of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), effectively implement the “Exchange of Experiences and Cooperation on TFA Implementation” project—a Chinese Customs initiative co-led with Spain.
Source: Customs Bulletin