Administration releases range of measures for customs development

China's General Administration of Customs unveiled a range of measures to back up the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, which refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives, transport infrastructure projects linking Asia and Europe promoted by President Xi Jinping in 2013.

Customs authorities from countries and regions covered by the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as related international organizations, will gather in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on Wednesday and Thursday, to attend the customs high-end forum.

The forum aims to help international customs authorities and organizations further develop cooperation, promoting the awareness that customs can play a crucial role in the initiative.

The administration of customs, as the nation's supervising and management organization for exports and imports, has set up a task team to carry out 16 specific measures that aim at "clearing up" all the unnecessary obstacles for transport and logistics, and deepening trade and other cooperation.

The first of the 16 measures is to put the ports covered in Belt and Road Initiative regions at the top of the development agenda.

The second is to work out innovative ways to manage ports and transport centers around China.

Another effort is to link all the parties related in logistics and ocean transport to develop two large regulating hubs, which would be called the "massive channel" projects.

Port authorities in China are encouraged to exchange information and workforces, as well as to offer backup to each other. There should also be further reforms on the integration of customs authorities along the Belt and Road.

The second batch of measures aims to facilitate more economic cooperation, including greater support for the opening-up of regions and business groups.

New approaches of trading will be encouraged and promoted, such as cross-border e-commerce.

The measures also call for more efforts to develop free trade zones with countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative.

In addition, the 16 measures include efforts to provide more international events such as customs forums and visits among these countries and regions. Current policies and endeavors should be used to deepen global cooperation among customs authorities.

Specifically, in regards to cooperation, the General Administration of Customs will set up a special fund for training customs staff members. The fund will be used to create more joint training programs with regions and countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.

The General Administration of Customs will also draw on the successful experience of past customs cooperation projects.

The Yuxinou international railway connecting Chongqing, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Europe offers experience in customs authorities cooperating with domestic and overseas railways, logistics systems and ports.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/27/2015 page7)