Regions simplify procedures for imports, exports

Provinces and regions along the Silk Road Economic Belt are working together to boost trade by reducing the red tape required for exports and imports, specifically targeting inspection and quarantine regulations.

The reform, which takes effect on July 1, includes the 10 provinces and regions that stretch the 4,000 kilometers from Qingdao, in East China's Shandong province, to Alataw Pass in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Initiated by the Shandong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, the reform aims to "optimize and simplify inspection and quarantine procedures between places of origin and ports of entry, which help lower the burden of companies," said Zhou Jian'an, head of the Shandong bureau.