China News Service:

What achievements has the GAC made since rolling out the 16 measures to optimize the business environment? Additionally, could you share information on the measures that the GAC plans to introduce in the near future to further promote stable growth and structural optimization in foreign trade? Thank you.

Lyu Daliang:

Thank you for your questions. Since the beginning of this year, the GAC has firmly implemented the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. We've been promoting stable growth and structural optimization in foreign trade, emphasizing a package of measures aimed at stability and quality improvement. Within the realm of customs responsibilities, we have introduced targeted policies and measures. In June of this year, we rolled out 16 measures to optimize the customs business environment. Every directly affiliated customs authority has since introduced detailed supporting measures, creating a cohesive set of policies and actions to stabilize foreign trade. We've fully implement concrete measures, establishing a mechanism for tracking and feedback on their implementation. We have actively engaged in in-depth communication with enterprises, disseminating policies, gathering feedback, and addressing concerns, thereby enhancing the synergistic effects of our policies and supporting the stable development of foreign trade. Based on our tracking, we can see that the 16 measures are gradually taking effect. Broadly speaking, enterprises are experiencing benefits in three main areas:

First, cross-border logistics have become more convenient. We've expanded pilot programs for facilitation measures such as "direct pick-up at the port," "direct loading upon arrival," and "linkage unloading." The inspection and clearance processes for high-tech equipment have been optimized, and the efficiency of inspection and clearance for bulk commodities has improved, effectively ensuring the swift movement of imported and exported goods. For example, the "linkage unloading" supervision model between Shanghai Yangshan Port and related ports in the Yangtze River Delta has led to an uptick in the frequency of internal branch lines such as the Shanghai-Taicang Port route, resulting in a 30% reduction in export logistics costs per container.

Second, the easing of burdens and improvements in efficiency are increasingly evident. Among the 16 measures, many aim to reduce costs and increase convenience for enterprises. These include facilitating export tax rebates, increasing efforts to nurture credit for enterprises that use special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, enhancing the facilitation of customs clearance for Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) enterprises both domestically and abroad, and broadening the scope of voluntary disclosure policies to offer enterprises convenient channels for error correction and observance of law. Since the start of this year, solely through the application of the voluntary disclosure policy, enterprises have been legally exempted from over 100 million yuan in late payment penalties. At the same time, we have improved the customs "12360 hotline" service and leveraged mechanisms such as "customs director reception day" and "customs director policy delivery" to offer timely aid to enterprises in addressing practical issues, continually boosting the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction among import and export enterprises.

Third, there's growing development momentum driven by innovation. Robust support has been provided for the healthy development of new models, such as cross-border e-commerce. The scope of trials for the return of retail export goods and bonded retail import goods bought via cross-border e-commerce has been expanded across various customs regions, continuously addressing the "difficult returns" issue faced by enterprises involved in cross-border e-commerce. Initiatives have been fast-tracked to promote comprehensive reforms in bonded zones, with the roll-out of 23 measures aimed at fostering the high-quality development of these zones, fully leveraging the potential of comprehensive bonded zones as a high-land for opening-up.

In the next step, we will continue to closely monitor the implementation of policies and measures while deepening our understanding of the expectations and demands of enterprises and local governments. Focusing on key directions such as stabilizing and expanding exports, exploring diversified markets, and assisting enterprises in overcoming difficulties, we will bolster our reserve of policies and measures for stabilizing foreign trade. We will introduce new policies and measures in a timely manner to help enterprises receive orders, expand their markets, and promote both stable growth and structural optimization in foreign trade. Thank you.