Qingdao Customs has launched 18 measures in five areas, including improving the intelligence level of ports and facilitating customs clearance of key commodities, so as to optimize and improve the overall business environment of the port area in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province.

Container ships dock in Qingdao Port, Shandong province, on Jan 24, 2022. [Photo/IC]

Since January 2022, a five-month special action to promote cross-border trade facilitation has been carried out in 10 port cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Qingdao, and Xiamen, to build demonstration cities in optimizing port business environments, according to the deployment of the General Administration of Customs. This was the first time that Qingdao had been a part of such a particular mission.

Qingdao will investigate cross-border trade-related document connection, information sharing, and online verification with Japan and South Korea. The city will construct a smart airport cargo supervision system based on the intelligent network system of Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport. The city will also provide a push notification service for testing status and a query service for submitted samples.

Qingdao has accelerated implementation of measures to facilitate trade and investment within the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Customs clearance for express delivery and perishable goods will be given within six hours. The city has also launched measures related to tariff concessions, simplified customs clearance procedures and technical preparations for rules on the origin, harmonization and mutual recognition of product standards.