Zhonghongwang.com:

Since the beginning of this year, the country has adopted a package of policies and measures to stabilize economic growth. Could you share with us the specific actions the GACC has taken to ensure steady, quality, and efficient growth in foreign trade? What results have been achieved so far? Thank you.

Li Kuiwen:

Thank you for your questions. This year, following the guiding principles of the Central Conference on Economic Work, the National Teleconference on Ensuring Stable Economic Performance, and the arrangements of the State Council to promote stable and quality growth in foreign trade, the GACC has rolled out ten measures to stabilize foreign trade and improve its quality, as well as efforts to help enterprises further ease difficulties and lower costs. Local customs branches adopted 854 detailed support measures in light of their specific conditions and the needs of the enterprises. The major measures are as follows:

We are, first, improving logistics efficiency. We have expanded nationwide the pilot practices of enterprises picking up imported goods directly from the ships upon the ships' arrival at the ports and directly loading exported goods onto vessels at the ports by going through the required procedures in advance. We also promoted in Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Ningbo the practice of enterprises confirming certain required information at a time more efficient for transiting imported goods to a new port after testing the practice in Shanghai and Chongqing on a pilot basis. In addition, we have carried out whole-process supervision for the customs clearance of vaccines. We now check the declaration information from enterprises early so that COVID-19 vaccines will not have to be unpackaged for examination or to wait for departure at the ports. Moreover, we set up "green channels" across the nation to import and export fresh and perishable agricultural products and food items. 

Second, we are stabilizing industrial and supply chains. We have guaranteed customs clearance for whitelisted enterprises of key industrial and supply chains. Measures have been taken to facilitate food import and diversify the import sources. We signed quarantine requirement protocols for importing corn from Myanmar, soybean from Malawi, and corn and peanut from Brazil. We have also promoted exporting quality agricultural products from RCEP members to China. In addition, efforts have been made to help ensure the import of major commodities such as iron ore and cotton to guarantee domestic demand. 

Third, we are stabilizing market entities. In the first half of this year, we completed the registration of 73,700 overseas manufacturing enterprises of imported goods in China. We shortened the record filing time of manufacturing enterprises of exported food and completed record filing for 23,500 such enterprises. We accelerated the review of applications for record filing of customs protection of IP rights, and 10,700 records were filed, a year-on-year increase of 58%. Furthermore, we suspended the interest for tax delay for goods of processing trade to be sold in the domestic market, and 14,600 enterprises have benefited from the suspension. 

Fourth, we are improving the business environment of ports. We carried out a five-month special campaign to facilitate cross-border trade in 10 cities of eight provincial-level regions by launching ten trade facilitation measures with relevant departments. We further improved the single-window document processing for international trade to consolidate our achievements in shortening customs clearance time. Following China's reform to streamline the government, delegate power, and improve government services, we have guided over 90,000 enterprises to file records with the customs authority with one unified business license. We have also promoted the reform of integrating all types of customs services, further facilitating foreign trade.