General

On March 20, the State Council Information Office held the eleventh "opening session of authoritative departments" series of theme press conferences, introducing the relevant information of "guarding the country, promoting development, and contributing customs forces to promoting Chinese path to modernization".

Scientific supervision to ensure the safe and orderly import and export of goods in international trade

"Scientific supervision in accordance with the law, using high-tech means such as big data and intelligent map review, improve the efficiency of port inspection and tax collection, and ensure the safety and order of goods import and export," said Yu Jianhua, Director of the General Administration of Customs.

In 2022, China's total foreign trade value exceeded 42 trillion yuan. The national customs supervises the import and export cargo volume of international trade to reach 4.8 billion tons, 13 million vehicles (aircraft, ships) such as cargo ships, planes, trains, and other means of transportation, and supervises 320 million cross-border express mails. Currently, there are 1.85 million import and export enterprises registered with the customs, three times as many as 10 years ago. In 2022, customs across the country intercepted 580000 species of harmful organisms, supervised the import and export of 590 million tons of hazardous chemicals, returned and destroyed 2900 batches of substandard food and cosmetics, and seized 1.2 million pieces of various contraband items and 2.8 tons of drugs.

Yu Jianhua said that due to the large scale of trade, multiple forms of trade, high regulatory requirements, and high security pressure, the national customs have vigorously promoted the construction of smart customs driven by both reform and technology. Realize digitization, automation, and intelligence of customs clearance and management, and continuously improve regulatory efficiency; Strengthen the three defense lines of "overseas, port, and domestic", build a customs operation mechanism of "response, echo, and response", and create a comprehensive and full-chain regulatory system.

Combating smuggling is an important function of customs. In recent years, the General Administration of Customs, together with departments such as public security and maritime police, has organized and launched a joint "national sword" campaign to severely crack down on smuggling of key commodities, channels, and regions. In the past five years, a total of 20000 smuggling crimes have been investigated and handled, with a value of over 500 billion yuan.

This year, the national customs will continue to maintain a strong crackdown on smuggling. First, strengthen special crackdowns on smuggling. Carry out joint special operations to crack down on the smuggling of refined oil, foreign garbage, guns and drugs. The second is to strengthen comprehensive supervision. Give play to the comprehensive role of customs and port supervision, inspection and quarantine, and inspection, and weave a tightly woven three-dimensional network to combat smuggling and prevent and control. Third, strengthen comprehensive governance. Further promote local governments to implement the main responsibility of comprehensive anti smuggling governance, coordinate with law enforcement departments such as public security and maritime police, and form a joint anti smuggling force.

Take multiple measures to promote stability and quality improvement in foreign trade

In 2022, the General Administration of Customs issued 23 measures to assist enterprises in bailing out, and local customs refined them into more than 1300 specific measures based on local realities. These measures were welcomed by business entities and achieved expected results. In December 2022, the overall customs clearance time for imports and exports nationwide was 67% and 92% shorter than in 2017.

"Take multiple measures to ensure stability and quality in foreign trade, continuously optimize the business environment at ports, make cross-border trade more convenient, and significantly reduce the overall customs clearance time for international trade imports and exports." Yu Jianhua introduced.

Currently, the national customs is evaluating 23 support measures, and on this basis, studying new policy measures aimed at the pain points, difficulties, and bottlenecks of enterprises. First, smooth import and export logistics. Promote the construction of smart customs, support the construction of smart ports and smart borders, accelerate and increase efficiency through scientific and technological means, and promote more convenient cross-border logistics. The second is to optimize the port business environment. Deeply promote the construction of a "single window" for international trade and provide enterprises with "one-stop" services for customs clearance. Third, reduce enterprise costs. Help enterprises make full use of tariff preferences in free trade agreements such as RCEP to reduce costs in the import and export process. Fourth, support the development of new industries. Innovate the cross-border e-commerce customs supervision mode to achieve accurate supervision and rapid customs clearance. Support the development of new business forms such as market procurement trade and bonded maintenance.

"We will conduct in-depth investigation and research, enter enterprises, enter airport terminals, face enterprise needs directly, solve difficult problems, solve new problems, and spare no effort to promote the stability and quality of foreign trade," Yu Jianhua said.

Zhao Zenglian, member of the Party Committee and director of the General Office of the General Administration of Customs, said that in the next step, the national customs will continue to optimize port facilities, build a service platform, promote internal and external connectivity, strengthen international cooperation, and improve customs clearance efficiency. Continue to deepen the pilot reform of customs clearance facilitation such as "ship side direct delivery", "arrival direct loading", and "combined port". Guide all localities to publish the port customs clearance process and the operation time limit of the main links based on the actual situation, stabilize the customs clearance time within a reasonable range, and provide relatively stable customs clearance expectations for the majority of enterprises.

Take the lead and open to the outside world with a high level of service

The emergence of cross-border e-commerce has become a new driving force for China's foreign trade development, as well as a new starting point for high-quality development. In the past five years, cross-border e-commerce has increased from 1 trillion yuan in international trade imports and exports in 2018 to 2.11 trillion yuan in 2022. Currently, 165 comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zones have been established nationwide, covering 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and cities.

In response to the development trend and characteristics of cross-border e-commerce, Sun Yuning, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, said that the customs will "work hard" in strengthening supervision and use intelligent verification methods to prevent cross-border e-commerce smuggling through verification of the authenticity of customs declaration documents; In terms of excellent services, "practical measures" should be taken to support cross-border e-commerce enterprises' electronic tax payment, facilitate enterprises' online processing, optimize the overseas warehouse declaration process, and serve enterprises to further expand exports.

Sun Yuning said that with the reform and opening up, special customs supervision areas have emerged. Last year, the total import and export value of international trade in areas under special customs supervision reached 8.4 trillion yuan, accounting for 20% of China's total foreign trade value. Currently, there are 167 special customs supervision areas, including 156 comprehensive bonded areas, accounting for 93.4%, covering 31 provinces, regions, and cities. The national customs will accelerate the introduction of reform measures to promote the high-quality development of comprehensive bonded areas, and promote the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade.

In 2022, the total foreign trade value of the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, together with Hong Kong and Macao, will reach 2.5 trillion US dollars, accounting for 5% of the total global trade. In supporting the construction of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, Yu Jianhua said that the customs would work closely with relevant parties to strengthen the "hard connectivity" of facilities and the "soft connectivity" of cooperation. First, focus on platform construction. We will increase efforts to pilot the Hengqin Cooperation Zone and promote the implementation of "first line liberalization and second line control". Support the innovation of customs supervision system in Qianhai Cooperation Zone and serve the construction of Nansha International Shipping and Logistics Hub well. The second is to facilitate customs clearance. Strengthen mutual recognition of customs supervision among the three regions. Facilitate the flow of people and goods. Third, strengthen law enforcement cooperation. Jointly maintain a good development environment in the Great Bay Area.

"First try to serve high-level opening up, and promote the innovation of customs supervision system in Hainan Free Trade Port, Free Trade Pilot Zone, Hengqin Guangdong Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, and Comprehensive Bonded Zone," Yu Jianhua said.