.
Read in Chinese
Speakers:
Mr. Yu Jianhua, minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC)
Mr. Sun Yuning, vice minister of the GACC
Mr. Zhao Zenglian, director of the General Office of the GACC
Chairperson:
Ms. Shou Xiaoli, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO
Date:
March 20, 2023
Shou Xiaoli:
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). Today, we are holding the 11th press conference in the series "Embarking on the New Journey — A Government Perspective." We are delighted to have invited Mr. Yu Jianhua, minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), to brief you on the efforts of China Customs to safeguard borders and advance Chinese modernization, and to take your questions. We also have with us Mr. Sun Yuning, vice minister of the GACC, and Mr. Zhao Zenglian, director of the General Office of the GACC.
Now, let's give the floor to Mr. Yu for his introduction.
Yu Jianhua:
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good morning. My colleagues and I are delighted to be here today to meet and speak with you. First and foremost, on behalf of the GACC, I would like to express our gratitude to the media for your coverage of our work throughout the years, as well as for your oversight of our customs enforcement efforts.
The GACC is the national agency responsible for border administration and supervision. As we embark on a new journey in the new era, the GACC has a deep understanding of the decisive significance of establishing Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) and in the Party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and upholds Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and upholds the Central Committee's authority and its centralized, unified leadership. Guided by the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we have fully and faithfully applied the new development philosophy on all fronts, worked to create a new pattern of development, promoted high-quality development, and pursued progress while ensuring stability. We have fulfilled the responsibility of better balancing the domestic and international situations, coordinating epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, and development with security. We remain focused on safeguarding borders, promoting development and contributing to overall economic and social progress.
Safeguarding borders is a fundamental duty of customs, and an important responsibility in the pursuit of a holistic approach to national security. We carry out lawful and science-based supervision and employ advanced technologies, such as big data and intelligent inspection, to enhance the efficiency of port inspections and tax collection, ensuring the safety and order of imported and exported goods. In 2022, tax revenue collected by customs reached 2.28 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.6%. We have been the first line of defense in preventing imported COVID-19 cases, having detected 55,000 positive cases among inbound personnel, which accounts for 67% of all port detections in the past three years. We have made significant contributions to winning a decisive victory in national epidemic prevention and control. We carry out strict inspections and quarantines to prevent the entry of major animal and plant epidemics and the invasion of alien species, having detected a total of 580,000 harmful organisms. We have severely cracked down on smuggling, having filed and investigated more than 4,500 criminal smuggling cases worth over 120 billion yuan, thus ensuring national security and a favorable business environment. We launched a 100-day special action on integrated management of dangerous goods at ports, clearing more than 2,400 batches of dangerous goods that were stockpiled at ports due to the epidemic, and detecting over 1,600 batches of false or concealed reports. This timely elimination of the significant risk of stockpiled dangerous goods in high-temperature weather conditions ensured port safety.
Promoting development is the due responsibility of the GACC in serving the people. We have taken multiple measures to serve foreign trade stability and quality improvement, continuously optimized the business environment at ports, made cross-border trade more convenient, and significantly reduced overall clearance time for imports and exports. We regularly released foreign trade data and various trade indices to serve macro decision-making and foreign trade enterprises. We have taken the lead in serving high-level opening-up, promoting innovative customs supervision systems for the Hainan Free Trade Port, free trade zones (FTZs), the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, and comprehensive bonded zones. We have actively served the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, promoted the "smart customs, smart borders, smart connectivity " concept to be included in the strategic planning of the World Customs Organization, and signed 80 customs cooperation agreements with many countries. We have supported the construction of international logistics corridors such as the China-Europe Railway Express. We have done everything possible to help enterprises overcome difficulties, issuing 23 support measures to promote the stable growth of foreign trade. We have launched activities inviting customs officials to the front line to promote policies, effectively doing practical things and solving problems for enterprises. We have conscientiously implemented tax reduction and preferential tax policies, with total tax cuts and refunds amounting to 285 billion yuan.
This year marks the first year of fully implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress. Customs across the country will focus on the "1+1+6" key tasks. The first "1" refers to deeply and solidly implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress by comprehensively studying it. The second "1" refers to promoting the construction of a socialist modernized customs with Chinese characteristics, with smart customs as a focal point. We will serve high-quality development and high-level opening-up with efficient customs supervision. The "6" refers to the six key tasks of building a full-chain safety supervision system, holding a strong first line of defense against the virus, implementing measures to promote stability and quality of foreign trade, serving high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, creating a high-level platform for opening-up, and exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance with high-quality standards. Customs across the country will keep in mind that we must never forget our original aspiration and founding mission, that we always stay modest, prudent and hardworking, and that we have the courage and ability to carry on our fight. The GACC will be loyal, responsible and dedicated to safeguarding the country's borders, promoting development, and working together toward a common goal. As per the new government's directives, we will continue to advance and refine our customs policies and practices to align with the grand blueprint. We will translate the key objectives outlined in the 20th CPC National Congress into concrete actions within customs, strive to achieve tangible outcomes and contribute to China's modernization efforts.
Now, my colleagues and I are happy to answer your questions. Thank you.
_ueditor_page_break_tag_
Shou Xiaoli:
Thank you. The floor is now open for questions. Please identify the media organization you work for before asking your questions.
CCTV:
China is the world's largest trading country in goods. What are the main challenges that the GACC is facing during its supervision work? How will you respond to these challenges? Thank you.
Yu Jianhua:
Thank you for your questions. It's often said that customs is the gateway to a country. As China opens wider to the outside world, the GACC will have an increasing responsibility to safeguard the entrance to the country.
In 2022, China's foreign trade exceeded 42 trillion yuan, hitting a record high in the history of trade and putting unprecedented pressure on the supervision work of customs authorities. Last year, the total freight volume of imports and exports under customs supervision reached 4.8 billion metric tons. We deployed a total of 13 million transportation vehicles including cargo ships, airplanes and freight trains, and supervised 320 million pieces of cross-border mail. Figuratively speaking, if we put all of these imported and exported goods on a freight train end to end, it would circle the equator 30 times; if we put all of the cargo containers end to end, it would make two rows between the Earth and the moon. This fully demonstrates China's momentum as the world's largest trading country in goods, and represents China's contribution to the world as well as the responsibilities and challenges for the GACC in its supervision efforts.
The huge quantity is one thing. On the other hand, in terms of the object of the GACC's services, the number of import and export enterprises registered with the GACC reached 1.85 million, three times that of 10 years ago. There are more and more enterprises engaged in trade. In terms of types of trade, in addition to general trade and processing trade, there are many new emerging business models such as cross-border e-commerce and market purchases.
In terms of supervisory responsibilities, in addition to preventing epidemic diseases, such as COVID-19 and African swine fever, we should also prevent the invasion of alien species such as red imported fire ants and desert locusts; in addition to testing iron ore and dangerous chemicals, we should also ensure the safety of imported and exported food; in addition to cracking down on foreign garbage and drug trafficking, we should also search for "problematic maps" and illegal propaganda materials in postal parcels; and in addition to detecting concealed ivory and other cultural relics, we should also prevent the entry of mice, cockroaches and other pests hidden in cargo containers. In 2022, customs across China identified 55,000 positive cases of COVID-19, intercepted 580,000 pests, supervised 590 million metric tons of imported and exported dangerous chemicals, returned and destroyed 2,900 batches of defective food and cosmetics, and seized 1.2 million prohibited items of all kinds and 2.8 metric tons of drugs. If we fail to steadfastly hold these fronts, there will be severe consequences.
You just asked what our main challenges are. In face of the super-sized trading scale, various kinds of trading models, demanding regulatory requirements and significant security concerns, how can we ensure "effective controls, moderate relaxation and quick clearance?" I believe these are the main challenges we are facing.
Of course, having challenges is not a bad thing. Instead, it is a driving force to promote reform and innovation of customs. We will adhere to the Party's comprehensive leadership over the GACC, insist on customs reform toward socialist modernization, take the driving role of both reform and technology, and vigorously promote the construction of "smart customs." We will take smart customs as a starting point to promote customs reform and modernization, and build world-class customs that leads the trend of international customs supervision and serves our country's high-quality development. We will strive to realize digital, automated and smart customs clearance and management, continuously improve supervision efficiency, strengthen the three lines of defense in and outside China and at ports, build a customs operation mechanism featuring "response, correspondence and reaction," and foster an all-round and whole-chain supervision system. At the same time, we should clearly recognize that fighting corruption is a common task facing customs authorities all over the world. Therefore, the GACC should not relax for a moment. We should resolutely eliminate the black sheep who "rely on customs and live off customs," continue sounding the bugle, and forge a loyal, clean and responsible high-quality customs team, to comprehensively improve the modernization of the customs governance system and governance capacity, and write a new chapter for customs along the Chinese path to modernization. Thank you.
_ueditor_page_break_tag_
The Poster News APP:
Business entities are key to promoting the development of foreign trade. Last year, we saw the GACC roll out a raft of measures to improve the quality and stability of foreign trade and help enterprises tide over difficulties and reduce costs. What results have been achieved? Will the GACC launch more policies this year? Thank you.
Yu Jianhua:
Foreign trade has always been a great concern to all of us. The epidemic has directly impacted foreign trade. The GACC has frequently communicated with import and export enterprises, so we are well aware of the difficulties facing foreign trade enterprises. We have resolutely responded to the CPC Central Committee's call for assistance to enterprises. Last year, we released 23 support measures, which local customs authorities refined into over 1,300 detailed measures based on local conditions. It's fair to say that these policies have received massive support among business entities and achieved the desired results.
Regarding the smooth clearance, compared to other large trading countries, China's import and export of goods has not been hindered by the epidemic, and customs clearance has become even faster and more convenient. In December 2022, the overall customs clearance time for imports and exports across the country dropped 67% and 92%, respectively, from 2017.
In terms of reducing costs, we supported enterprises to enjoy various tax relief policies. Last year, total tax refunds and cuts for foreign trade companies were worth 285 billion yuan.
In terms of improving services, we implemented measures such as "delivering policy information to enterprises' doorsteps," adjusting the inspection and supervision mode for imported major commodities to "release before inspection," and opening "green channels" for agricultural and food products. We also removed 87 commodity codes from the catalogue of import and export commodities subject to inspection and quarantine and optimized the business environment at ports.
Currently, we are evaluating 23 measures and will retain them as much as possible to ensure policy continuity. In addition, we will consider new policies and measures to address the pains, difficulties, and bottlenecks faced by companies. We will mainly focus on the following aspects:
First, we will facilitate the logistics of imports and exports. We will accelerate the development of smart customs and support the building of smart ports and intelligent borders. Through technological means, we will further improve the efficiency of cross-border logistics.
Second, we will improve the business environment at ports. We will push forward the building of a single-window platform to facilitate international trade, offering one-stop customs clearance services for companies.
Third, we will reduce enterprise costs. We will help enterprises to make full use of the tariff preferences in free trade agreements, such as the RCEP, and reduce the costs during import and export.
Fourth, we will foster new forms of business. We will innovate ways of customs supervision for cross-border e-commerce to ensure targeted supervision and faster customs clearance. We will support the development of new business formats such as market procurement trade and bonded maintenance service.
Next, we will conduct in-depth research and study and continue to provide the service of "delivering policy information to enterprises' doorsteps." We will step out of the office and go to enterprises, airports, and ports to find out their needs. We will work together with enterprises to tackle difficulties and challenges and spare no effort to promote the stable and high-quality development of foreign trade.
Thank you.
_ueditor_page_break_tag_
Yicai.com:
Cross-border trade is closely related to people's daily lives and has developed rapidly in recent years. How do customs authorities improve and maintain efficiency while ensuring safety during customs clearance?
Yu Jianhua:
Cross-border e-commerce is of great public concern and has achieved rapid development. In 2018, China's cross-border e-commerce transactions exceeded 1 trillion yuan and doubled to over 2 trillion yuan last year. We will have Mr. Sun answer your question.
Sun Yuning:
Thank you. Cross-border e-commerce has evolved to a global platform for buying and selling goods. It has served as a new engine driving China's foreign trade development as well as a leverage to promote high-quality development. In the new decade, cross-border e-commerce has entered a stage of rapid growth. Over the past five years, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports increased from 1 trillion yuan in 2018 to 2.11 trillion yuan in 2022, showcasing significant growth both in volume and quality. An increasing number of Chinese-made products are entering the international consumer goods market through cross-border e-commerce. At present, there are 165 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones nationwide, covering 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. They have become an essential carrier and platform for developing cross-border e-commerce.
As a new form of international trade, cross-border e-commerce has achieved vigorous growth and had a profound influence on international trade. It differs from traditional trade in that it is fragmented, IT-based, and involves a massive amount of goods. Data shows that the number of declaration lists of imports via cross-border e-commerce is 56 times that of the number of goods declarations during the same period, with an average value per list of less than three ten-thousandths of the value of the goods declarations. We have seized prohibited goods, such as firearms, explosives, drugs, controlled psychotropic substances, intellectual property rights-infringing items, and exotic pets. It can be said that these new situations have posed challenges to customs regulatory work.
We have introduced a management system that is different from customs clearance for traditional trade to cater to the development trends and characteristics of cross-border e-commerce. Through classification management and tailored measures, we have created a customs supervision model that is suitable for cross-border e-commerce. Building on the existing "Business to Consumer (B2C)" policy, we proposed a new regulatory policy that better serves "Business to Business (B2B)" and "Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C)" transactions. In this process, we have strengthened the role of technology and developed and launched a unified IT-based system for cross-border e-commerce regulation, which integrates and manages transaction, payment, logistics, and other related data. At the same time, we have fully promoted the paperless registration of overseas warehouses for cross-border e-commerce export, allowing enterprises to register their information with one customs authority and use it nationwide. As of the end of February, there were 1,713 registered overseas warehouse enterprises.
Next, the GACC will continue to adhere to the regulatory concept of "innovation, inclusiveness, prudence and coordination," and put equal emphasis on regulation and development. It will mainly focus on the following two aspects: On the one hand, we will work harder to strengthen regulations. First, we will prevent the smuggling of cross-border e-commerce by checking the authenticity of customs declaration forms via intelligent means; second, we will strengthen cooperation with cross-border e-commerce platform enterprises and control risks in advance to further reduce the operation risks of enterprises and supervision risks of customs; third, we will expand the application of commodity barcodes and strengthen the management of commodity sources to boost consumers' confidence; and fourth, we will pay close attention to issues regarding global food safety and issue warnings in a timely manner. On the other hand, we will take effective measures to upgrade services. First, we will support the e-payment of taxes for cross-border e-commerce businesses to facilitate online procedures; second, we will promote "inspection before installation" for less than container load (LCL) export cargo to further facilitate logistics efficiency and reduce the costs of enterprises; third, we will advance data analysis services so as to provide strong anticipatory guidance for the high-quality development of new business forms; fourth, we will optimize declaration procedures for overseas warehouses to further expand exports for enterprises; and fifth, we will constantly improve measures on returning imported and exported goods to ease the worries of both enterprises and consumers. Thank you.
_ueditor_page_break_tag_
China News Service:
Combating smuggling is an inherent function of customs authorities. Could you explain how the GACC keeps up pressure against smuggling to ensure social security, economic security and fair competition? Thank you.
Yu Jianhua:
"Cracking down on smuggling will not cease as long as there is water in the sea." Smuggling has always been a cancer of international trade, endangering national security and economic order, and even affecting people's lives and health. After years of strict crackdowns, the momentum of smuggling has been contained, and the overall situation is stable and controllable despite the complex situation. There are two situations that deserve our particular attention:
First, smuggling activities are becoming better organized and more professional. For example, smuggling has become more collectivized and professional in terms of refined oil products, foreign garbage and drugs. The collusion between domestic and cross-border groups, the more rigorous organization as well as the more professional division of labor have brought new challenges to customs authorities in their supervision and anti-smuggling work.
Second, smugglers are using more intelligent and covert means. For example, in cases involving the smuggling of cigarettes, red wine, cosmetics and high-end consumer goods, some smugglers use network technology to link transactions; some control "parallel traders" to transport goods, or use people who frequently cross the borders to escape the crackdown; some use offshore duty-free shopping to purchase on behalf of others on Hainan Island; and some even forge cross-border e-commerce documents to get through customs under a false pretense.
Considering these features, we, together with the public security department and the coastguard, launched a joint campaign to target the smuggling of key commodities through key channels and in key areas. Over the past five years, we have investigated and handled 20,000 smuggling cases worth more than 500 billion yuan. The number of foreign garbage smuggling cases dropped from a peak of 481 to 98 last year. The seizure of ivory products fell from 9.2 metric tons at its peak to 70 kg last year. The GACC is a four-time winner of the United Nations Asian Environmental Enforcement Award and a two-time winner of the Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award, demonstrating China's image as a responsible major country to the world.
This year, we will continue to maintain the high-pressure crackdown on smuggling, focusing on the following three aspects:
First, we will strengthen the special anti-smuggling campaigns. Special joint campaigns such as "National Sharp Sword" and "National Warriors" have been launched to combat smuggling activities involving refined oil products, foreign garbage, guns and drugs.
Second, we will advance comprehensive regulations. We will give full play to the comprehensive role of customs ports in their supervision, inspection and quarantine as well as auditing, and will promote all-round monitoring so as to form a multi-faceted anti-smuggling network.
Third, we will strengthen comprehensive governance. Setting the National Anti-Smuggling Office in the GACC, we will further encourage local governments to undertake their primary responsibility of comprehensive anti-smuggling control, and cooperate with the public security department, coastguard authorities, and other law enforcement departments to form a synergy.
Through these efforts, we will establish a comprehensive anti-smuggling network, making it impossible for smugglers to hide and their activities to go unnoticed. Thank you.
_ueditor_page_break_tag_
Cover News:
We have noticed that in recent years, customs authorities have been focusing on facilitating customs clearance and improving the business environment at ports. May I ask what new measures customs authorities are planning to introduce next? How can we continue to optimize the business environment at ports? Thank you.
Yu Jianhua:
This questions is very important. Creating a good and convenient business environment at ports is the main work of customs. Mr. Zhao will answer this question.
Zhao Zenglian:
The business environment at ports is directly related to the interests and sense of fulfillment of the majority of business entities. It has been a matter of broad concern across all sectors of society for some time. Over recent years, customs, in close cooperation with all parties, has launched a series of innovative measures aimed at optimizing the port business environment and has achieved certain results.
These measures can be summarized in several aspects: five consecutive years of special actions to promote cross-border trade facilitation; streamlining regulatory documents of import and export links; significantly reducing the overall clearance time of import and export goods through ports; further promoting the reform of customs clearance facilitation; standardizing and reducing the cost of import and export links; and continuing to improve informationization of port management.
Thanks to these measures, port clearance time is shorter, customs clearance costs are lower, and customs clearance procedures are more convenient. The effectiveness of these efforts was also acknowledged in this year's government work report .
In regards to optimizing the business environment at ports, there is always room for improvement, and we are constantly striving to refine our goals and maintain persistence. In the next step, we will continue to launch new and effective measures, which can be summarized in 15 words: optimize facilities, build platforms, promote connectivity, strengthen cooperation, and improve efficiency.
First, we will optimize port facilities. We are working with relevant parties to accelerate the expansion of important border port construction projects and further improve border crossing capacity. We are guiding the implementation of the free trade port layout program in Hainan province to accelerate the construction of the free trade port and to provide port facilities to realize independent customs operations as scheduled.
Second, we will build a service platform. Mr. Yu just mentioned the establishment of a single window for international trade. We will further play its role as a comprehensive service platform for export tax rebate declarations and automatic capture of invoice information to facilitate the process for businesses to apply for tax rebates. We will optimize services related to "customs clearance + logistics" and "foreign trade + finance" to provide enterprises with customs clearance and logistics information inquiries, export credit insurance, cross-border settlements, and financing services.
Third, we will promote internal and external connectivity. We are working with all parties to actively promote the reopening of land border ports. At present, land border crossings for freight have resumed as long as conditions permit and the relevant passenger transport routes have also resumed opening. We will further promote the development of cross-border trains, such as China-Europe freight trains and the new land-sea transit routes for the western region, and support the development of sea-rail combined transport and other forms of multimodal transport around the world.
Fourth, we will strengthen international cooperation. We are vigorously promoting international cooperation on smart customs, smart borders, smart connectivity based on the World Bank's new assessment system for the business environment to coordinate and promote the construction of smart ports. We are steadily promoting green lanes for fast customs clearance of agricultural and sideline products, promoting single window cooperation between China and countries along the Belt and Road, and promoting the exchange and sharing of documents related to cross-border trade.
Five, we will improve customs clearance efficiency. Based on preliminary assessments, we will continue to promote shipside direct deliveries, direct loading upon arrival, combined ports, and other customs clearance facilitation reform pilots. We will guide various regions to publish the port clearance process and the main operational time limits based on practical situations. By stabilizing customs clearance time within a reasonable range, we can provide enterprises with relatively stable customs clearance expectations. Thank you.
_ueditor_page_break_tag_
Zhonghongwang:
We noticed that in 2022, in response to backlogs of dangerous goods exported at some ports, customs organized a 100-day campaign for the comprehensive management of dangerous goods at ports. What is the specific content of this campaign, and how effective has it been so far? After the end of the special campaign, will the results be fixed as a long-term mechanism to continue to play a corresponding role? Thank you.
Yu Jianhua:
Port security is indeed a major responsibility of customs, and we have a high sense of responsibility to prevent and resolve risks in this area. Let's invite Mr. Sun to answer the questions.
Sun Yuning:
Coordinating development and security and giving full attention to every-minute workplace safety is an important instruction General Secretary Xi Jinping made for workplace safety. Customs have kept this instruction in mind, adhered to the principle that safety management must go with business management, and continuously ensured workplace safety at ports with a sense of responsibility to always remain alert.
Since last year, some imported dangerous goods have been kept for long periods of time at ports due to the pandemic, and along with scorching weather, risks to workplace safety have risen. In response, we launched a 100-day special action campaign to comprehensively manage dangerous goods at customs ports across the country, cleared more than 2,400 batches of dangerous goods accumulated at ports because of the pandemic, investigated and found more than 1,600 batches that were not cataloged or spuriously reported, and filed over 500 administrative punishment cases. The overall clearance time for dangerous goods has been reduced by more than 60%, ensuring the safe and stable operation of ports.
We believe that the end of the 100-day special action campaign is not the end of our efforts. China is a big trader of dangerous goods. With the accelerated economic recovery, the country's import and export of dangerous goods have increased remarkably. At the same time, despite efforts to hit back against all types of illegal behavior, illegal issues still exist, such as companies not reporting, lowering the danger level while reporting, or underreporting dangerous goods, which has posed a serious challenge to customs' safe and efficient regulation. This year, we will focus on our work in the following three respects:
First, we will continue to enhance integrated management. Last year's 100-day special action campaign addressed the problem of dangerous goods stored for long periods of time at ports. This year, we launched a half-year special action to crack down on unreported or spuriously reported dangerous goods. We will combine efforts to crack down, regulate, and deter and fully strengthen risk prevention and control, on-spot supervision, and follow-up inspections to improve the regulation chain and realize coordination in law enforcement of customs nationwide. In the meantime, coordinated law enforcement will be enhanced to cement regulatory networks for workplace safety with relevant departments.
Second, we will advance regular governance. The effective experience and practices gained from special actions should be fixed as regular governance measures. This aims to prevent the recurrence of the accumulation of goods at ports and keep up the pressure against unreported or spuriously reported goods so as to smooth the way for law-abiding companies and make law-breakers pay the price. Meanwhile, we will improve the regulatory efficiency of the entry and exit of dangerous goods and deepen the reform of the relevant supervision and inspection model. Currently, we have launched pilot programs at five ports, including Shanghai, and will soon summarize and assess the experience to apply these steps across the country.
Third, we will prevent major safety risks. To be specific, while comprehensively managing dangerous goods at ports, we will focus on health and quarantine, animal and plant quarantine, food safety, law enforcement safety, laboratory safety, and other key areas. We will repeatedly and continuously ensure the identification, ranking, and elimination of security risks, prioritize prevention, and stick to the bottom line of safety and the red line for regulation.
Thank you.
_ueditor_page_break_tag_
Phoenix TV:
Data recently released by the GACC showed that China's total foreign trade dropped by 0.8% in the first two months of this year. We also noticed many media reports of an increasing number of empty containers at ports, triggering the public's concern over this year's imports and exports. What is the GACC's judgment regarding this year's foreign trade? Thank you.
Yu Jianhua:
Thank you for your question. This year's foreign trade is of deep public concern. As you said, the GACC has issued data for the first two months of this year, which was interpreted by the relevant departments. The GACC has closely monitored foreign trade developments since March. Overall, we believe that foreign trade has gotten off to a stable start and presented positive growth trends. In terms of scale, the total export value in the first two months surpassed our expectations and increased by 0.9%, hitting a record high. The total import and export value in the first two months exceeded 6 trillion yuan, only the second time in history. The peak for the same period before the pandemic was less than 5 trillion yuan. Regarding the composition, as China took the lead in reopening the economy during the pandemic, the export of anti-pandemic supplies and stay-at-home economy products significantly increased, raising the foreign trade baseline. Based on our calculations, excluding one-time factors, imports and exports in the first two months of this year grew by more than 10%. As for trends, based on weekly monitoring, China's foreign trade rebounded since February and increased by over 15% in the last week in February compared with the previous week. As to neighboring countries, China's foreign trade is performing better than neighboring economies that have released relevant data.
Certainly, foreign trade does face many difficulties and challenges, with the weakening of foreign demand being the most concerning. High global inflation and sluggish growth in major economies have continued to impact global trade. The WTO recently predicted that global trade in goods during the first quarter of this year will be weak, and it expected it to grow by a mere 1% for the entire year. In addition, some countries' decoupling with others and severing supply chains, geopolitical risks, and recent fluctuations in the financial markets of some Western countries have impacted the global trade environment, which is also an external challenge for promoting stability and improving the quality of China's foreign trade.
However, we must also see the positive side. In the first two months, more companies have entered the field of foreign trade in terms of business types, and 46,000 new foreign trade businesses have been registered with Customs authorities, which shows that people's confidence is accumulating and recovering. In terms of orders, according to our tracking and monitoring, the proportion of companies with increasing export orders has continued to rise. In terms of new kinetic energy, the total exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells increased by 60%. The imports and exports of cross-border e-commerce of concern to the public increased by 15.8%. As for trade diversification, China's imports and exports to countries along the Belt and Road increased by more than 10%, and the total imports and exports to other RCEP members increased by more than 3%.
You also mentioned the issue of empty containers, which we are also paying attention to. This is due to reasons including an excessive amount of new containers that were put into use in the previous period, lower domestic storage cost, and the short-term return of empty containers in large quantities after the easing of the epidemic situation abroad, as well as seasonality. A large number of empty containers are ready to depart at our ports, which to some extent can be viewed as a positive reflection of the international market's continued optimism about China's export capacity in the next stage. According to the latest customs data, since late February, the volume of export containers being used has continued to grow.
On the whole, the foreign trade situation remains severe and complicated, but it also contains many opportunities, and the difficulties are more global in nature. In comparison, China still possesses an obvious competitive advantage. With the overall improvement of China's economic situation, the momentum of the stable start of foreign trade in the first two months is expected to continue. Therefore, we are fully confident in achieving the goal of stabilizing and improving the quality of China's foreign trade this year. Thank you.
_ueditor_page_break_tag_
Shenzhen Satellite TV Zhinews:
We have noticed that many young people are fond of keeping exotic pets nowadays. At the same time, we have also noticed that this year's No. 1 Central Document included the issue of exotic pets for the first time. How does the customs prevent the invasion of alien species caused by exotic pets and ensure the biological security of China's borders? Thank you.
Yu Jianhua:
Exotic pets are a threat to China's biological security. The GACC attaches great importance to the issue and has adopted a series of measures to intercept them. For details, I will invite Mr. Zhao Zenglian to answer your question.
Zhao Zenglian:
Thank you for your question, and I appreciate your interest in this topic. "Exotic pets" are a new term and a trending topic. They are called "exotic" because they are different from traditional companion animals such as cats and dogs. They are considered special because some of them were once feared and are now kept as pets. These include such animals as snakes, lizards, and horned frogs. These exotic pets are peculiar in appearance, colorful, and unique.
Just now, you said that the No. 1 Central Document mentioned "exotic pets" for the first time, which reflects that exotic pets are no longer just simple household pets but rather come with other concerns. These are mainly reflected in three aspects. First, these exotic pets are mostly foreign species, which poses a big threat to biodiversity of organisms. When such exotic pets escape or are abandoned in nature, they may multiply and spread rapidly without natural enemies, threatening to local ecosystem. Second, they threaten the safety of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery. Once in nature, they can pose a huge threat to local species and even leading to a sharp decline in their populations. Third, they pose a threat to the health and safety of the people. Some of these animals are aggressive, such as the fire salamanders and messor barbaruses, and others are highly poisonous, such as the giant centipedes and poison dart frogs. In addition, some exotic pets carry germs that can threaten people's lives.
Customs must take action when there are calls from the central government and societal concerns. We have taken a series of measures to strictly prevent the invasion of alien species such as "exotic pets." First, we have strengthened port inspections, and customs have used technological means such as X-ray and CT machines to prevent "exotic pets" from entering the country through mail. Customs supervise over 400,000 pieces of mail arriving from overseas every day. Second, we have carried out special operations, such as "Green Shield at Entry at the Border" and taken comprehensive measures to prevent the delivery of "exotic pets" in cross-border e-commerce, to crack down on criminal gangs and rings that illegally import "exotic pets" and other alien species. Third, we strengthened joint prevention and control. Internally, we enhanced inter-departmental cooperation to form law enforcement synergy. Externally, we strengthened source control to ensure that overseas competent authorities shoulder their responsibilities. Fourth, we have created a joint social governance atmosphere: If no one buys them, no one will sell them. Customs used a combination of online and offline methods to continuously strengthen publicity and education for delivery companies and inbound travelers and make every effort to enhance public awareness of biosafety.
In 2022, customs intercepted 991 types of "exotic pets" and other alien species in 2,012 cases, including large ants measuring 4 centimeters long, large beetles measuring 10 centimeters long, and large centipedes measuring over 30 centimeters long. I have brought some pictures here to show you today. The "exotic pets" we intercepted were safely and strictly disposed of according to laws and regulations.
Next, customs will resolutely implement the deployment and requirements of the "No. 1 central document," strengthen port inspections, crack down on illegal activities, and firmly guard the nation's gateways. We will continue strengthening policy interpretation, publicity, and education, exposing typical cases, and enhancing public awareness of ensuring biosafety.
I would also like to take this opportunity to make a public call through our media friends: Everyone has a responsibility in ensuring biosafety and can contribute. I hope that "exotic pet" enthusiasts will not purchase illegally imported small animals and will not harm nature with their personal hobbies. Thank you.
_ueditor_page_break_tag_
Shou Xiaoli:
The last two questions.
National Business Daily:
Could you provide an update on the current status of the development of China's special customs supervision zones? What are the difficulties and pain points in addressing the imbalances of developing these zones? What achievements have been made so far? Thank you.
Yu Jianhua:
Special supervision zones represent a crucial responsibility for customs supervision. As our nation continues to open up, an increasing number of these zones have been established, each with unique circumstances, and customs supervision pressure remains high. I will invite Mr. Sun Yuning, who oversees this work, to answer the questions.
Sun Yuning:
Thank you for your questions. With China's reform and opening-up policies, special customs zones emerged and after more than three decades of development, they have become an important platform and carrier for opening up to the outside world. Last year, the total import and export value of these special zones reached 8.4 trillion yuan, accounting for 20% of China's total foreign trade value. These zones, which account for less than 0.005% of the country's territorial area, contributed one-fifth of the country's total foreign trade.
To adapt to the development needs of foreign trade in different periods, China has established six kinds of special zones: bonded zones, export processing zones, bonded logistics parks, bonded port zones, comprehensive bonded zones, and cross-border industrial zones. Following the requirements of scientific and coordinated development, we are actively implementing the arrangements and requirements of the State Council and promoting the transformation and upgrading of various types of special zones into comprehensive bonded zones. Currently, there are 167 special zones in the country, of which 156, or 93.4% of the total, are comprehensive bonded zones, covering 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions.
In the new era, the development of special zones has shown three main characteristics. First, the scale of the zones continues to expand. Last year, the total import and export value of special zones doubled from 2012, and their proportion of foreign trade increased from 15.7% to 20%. Second, the industrial structure continues to be optimized. Bonded R&D, bonded maintenance, "Bonded Plus," and other industries are developing, and emerging business forms such as financial leasing and cross-border e-commerce are booming, showing a diversified development trend. In 2022, the total import and export value of bonded maintenance reached 198.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.7%. Third, the zones' development is more coordinated. There is an evident trend that the zones leverage the core role of leading enterprises to drive the clustered development of upstream and downstream enterprises. In provinces and municipalities such as Sichuan, Chongqing, Henan, and Shaanxi, the proportion of the total import and export value of special zones exceeds 50% or even 60% of the local foreign trade import and export total value.
You mentioned that there are still imbalances in developing special zones. The development of special zones in the eastern region of China is better than those in the central and western regions. Uneven development is also a problem for some provinces where multiple special zones were set up. Also, some special zones face issues of insufficient development, such as reliance on a single industry, prominent homogenization phenomena, inadequate industrial supporting facilities, and unclear competitive advantages.
Regarding these issues, we will focus on the following three aspects. First, we will proactively contribute to the "dual circulation" development paradigm. We will accelerate our efforts to introduce reform measures for the high-quality development of comprehensive bonded zones in the new era, proactively join the unified domestic market, and promote the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade. Second, we will proactively support transforming and upgrading certain special areas. We will scale up support for the innovative development of the "Bonded Plus" business form. We will also foster industrial clusters such as those involving research and development in bonded zones, help make breakthroughs in core technologies in key areas, and contribute our part to achieving sci-tech self-reliance. Third, we will proactively promote the construction of smart comprehensive bonded zones. Taking deepening reform in comprehensive bonded zones as a focal point, we will develop new models for customs supervision, strengthen the enabling role of science and technology, and keep improving the business environment and boosting enterprises' sense of gain. Thank you.
_ueditor_page_break_tag_
Guangdong Radio and Television (GRT):
We noticed that the chief executives of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) recently met with Mr. Yu. What achievements has the GACC made in supporting the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area? What measures will be taken next? Thank you.
Yu Jianhua:
Thank you for your interest in this issue. Last week, I met with Ho Iat Seng, chief executive of the Macao SAR, and his Hong Kong counterpart John Lee. The development of the Greater Bay Area is a topic we all care about. As one of the moves to advance "one country, two systems," the Greater Bay Area is home to three customs territories with three kinds of currency in circulation. The practice is the first of its kind for the construction of bay areas around the world. Last year, the foreign trade volume of the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong, and Macao reached $2.5 trillion, accounting for 5% of the world's total. It is fair to say that the Greater Bay Area is one of China's most open and economically vibrant regions. The customs authorities will shoulder their share of responsibility and play a greater role in contributing to the development of the Greater Bay Area.
We have made efforts in the following two areas in recent years.
First, to facilitate the flow of factors, we have expedited efforts to develop new customs supervision regulations and rolled out 54 measures to support establishing major cooperation platforms in Hengqin, Qianhai and Nansha. We have developed new customs clearance models, such as those combining different ports and offering one-stop clearance services, which have been implemented across the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. We also extended the Single E-lock Scheme (SELS ) to customs authorities between Guangdong and Hong Kong, as well as between Guangdong and Macao. The so-called SELS refers to the practice employed by customs authorities in the two cities, using e-locks on cross-border vehicles to strengthen supervision during transit. Vehicles under such a scheme can enjoy express customs clearance services in ports on the opposite side without undergoing inspections or unpacking examinations. This is one of the measures for trade facilitation, and we will extend this trial scheme to more areas. We have also successfully implemented the policy allowing private cars from Macao to enter and leave the mainland via the Zhuhai highway port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. A total of 53,000 private cars from Macao have entered and left the mainland in this way since the beginning of this year. We have also established express channels for fresh agricultural products. Moreover, we have carried out timely customs inspection and clearance services, making every effort to ensure supplies to Hong Kong and Macao.
Second, with regard to safeguarding trade security, the customs authorities of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have stepped up risk analysis and coordination efforts, and are exploring the development of an integrated risk prevention and control system for the Greater Bay Area. We have improved the long-term coordination mechanism to combat smuggling and launched joint campaigns, including the "San Cha Ji" (Trident) and "Qingwan" (Clean Bay) operations, among the three areas, in a bid to crack down on various illegal activities, such as maritime cross-border smuggling in areas including Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.
Currently, the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is being carried out at an accelerated pace. In the next step, the customs authorities will closely collaborate with related sectors to enhance the "hard connectivity" of facilities and the "soft connectivity" of cooperation. We will make efforts in three areas to help build a top-tier bay area and world-class city cluster in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.
First, we will focus on the development of platforms. We will double our efforts to roll out pilot trials in the Hengqin Cooperation Zone. We will work towards promoting the implementation of the policy allowing goods from overseas and from FTZs to enter and exit China without customs supervision, while goods entering China from FTZs will be subject to integrated customs management. We will also support the innovation of customs supervision systems in the Qianhai Cooperation Zone and contribute to constructing an international shipping and logistics hub in Nansha.
Second, we will facilitate customs clearance. We will strengthen mutual recognition of customs inspections between the three regions and proactively extend the SELS to customs authorities. We will keep implementing the policy that allows private cars from Macao to enter and leave the mainland via the Zhuhai highway port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and expedite efforts to extend this policy to private cars in Hong Kong. We will further mutually recognize Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status and deepen cooperation in single-window customs clearance system. We will work to build connectivity in trade data and explore methods that help enterprises complete declarations to both customs as well as inspection and quarantine authorities with a single submission. We will also optimize and simplify customs clearance models and facilitate the flow of people and goods. We will strengthen coordination and cooperation and jointly make effective use of and manage the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which is a bridge of dreams coming true, concerted efforts, self-confidence, and rejuvenation.
Third, we will strengthen our cooperation with law enforcement. We will enhance information sharing and boost law enforcement coordination. We will also strengthen cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in fields such as inspection and quarantine, intellectual property rights protection, and combating smuggling. These efforts will jointly maintain a sound development environment in the Greater Bay Area.
Thank you.
Shou Xiaoli:
Thank you to all the speakers and journalists. Today's press conference is hereby concluded.
Translated and edited by Wang Yiming, Wang Qian, Qin Qi, Wang Wei, Cui Can, Zhang Junmian, Zhang Tingting, Liu Qiang, Liu Caiyi, Yang Xi, Xu Xiaoxuan, Wang Yanfang, Yan Bin, Zhang Rui, Yuan Fang, Zhu Bochen, Zhang Rui, Li Huiru, David Ball, Tom Arnsten, and Jay Birbeck. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.
