The cargo ship Winning Pride, loaded with 174,000 metric tons of high-quality bauxite, berthed at the wharf in the west part of Yantai Port on Feb 14.

"We need to supply three batches of materials and food for each ship on average to ensure safe operation and the physical and mental health of the crew," said Han Shuying, director of shipping operations at Winning International Group.

Thanks to new customs measures, the port detention time for each ship has been shortened by about four hours on average compared with previous years and the average operating cost per ship reduced by nearly 100,000 yuan ($14,511.68), Han added.

This is one of the key 30 measures that the customs bureaus in Yantai jointly introduced earlier this year to deepen reform and innovation and promote the high-quality development of foreign trade.  

Those measures aimed to facilitate the construction of logistics hubs, boost the development of emerging industries and help Yantai become a trillion-level-yuan industrial giant.

Last year, the import and export volume of Yantai exceeded 450 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.5 percent.

Liu Guangyin, director of the business department of Yantai-based Port Logistics Co Ltd, said: "We launched the bonded potash fertilizer import business on China-Europe trains on Dec 25 last year and benefited from the local customs' 'green channel' policy for importing agricultural materials with convenient clearance and inspection."

Yantai Customs plays a key role in supporting the construction of logistics hubs through serving Yantai Port and Yantai International Airport, promoting special businesses such as China-Africa general cargo liners and international transshipment of commercial vehicles and developing the multimodal transport system of sea-air, sea-rail and sea-land. 

The customs supports the construction of a green, low-carbon and high-quality development pilot zone, launches major projects such as the Yulong Island refining and chemical integration and Wanhua new materials low-carbon industrial park and guides enterprises to make full use of customs tax reduction and exemption policies.

The customs continues to optimize the inspection of imported bulk commodities, implements measures such as "release before inspection" for some mineral products and conducts quality inspections upon application by enterprises.

It supports Yantai in becoming a high-standard RCEP cooperation demonstration base and further enhances the city's opening-up.

It also provides tailor-made services for the city's foreign trade enterprises. For example, it launched a pilot project of "pre-packaged food export" for market procurement at the Yantai Three-Station Wholesale Trading Market to simplify the applicable procedures for small-volume and small-batch commodities.