SCIO press conference on China Customs' efforts to safeguard borders, advance Chinese modernization
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 24, 2023
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.
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