Guangzhou Customs makes Nansha Free Trade Zone opening up hub

On Nov 23, the State Council issued the "Notice on Supporting Several Measures for Deepening Reform and Innovation in the Pilot Free Trade Zone,"  which marks that the Pilot Free Trade Zone has entered a period of in-depth reform and innovation featuring high-level openness and high-quality development. In the past three years, Guangzhou Customs has all along focused on institutional innovation and launched 25 independent innovation systems, in which three systems have been copied and promoted nationwide and eight systems in Guangdong.

Promote the diversified development of foreign trade industry

Nansha has achieved leap-forward development in the cross-border e-commerce trade value. Guangzhou Customs has continuously optimized the customs clearance process to create good conditions for cross-border e-commerce development, and has taken the lead to implement the information management method. Such an information system for cross-border e-commerce customs clearance in Nansha has been promoted as a national unified version.

Nansha has also established the second largest port for parallel importing of cars in China. Through a series of innovative measures such as DIT International Delayed Transfer, a New Inter-bank Guarantee Model, and Automobile Bonded Display, a set of highly-efficient and low-cost vehicle import customs clearance procedures were established. The number of cruise passengers rose to the third place in the country. In 2017, Nansha Port cruises were inbound and outbound 276 times with 320,000 passengers entering and leaving the country. The peak passenger clearance speed was 1,500 passengers per hour, which led the country.

In addition, under the continuous promotion of Guangzhou Customs, emerging business formats such as aircraft bonded financial leasing, diamond bonded display transactions, and futures bonded delivery have also developed rapidly. The industrial chain has continued to develop from low value-added processing and assembly to high value-added service trade, resulting in rapid transformation and upgrading of the industry.

Smooth import and export logistics channel

Since the completion of the Nansha Port wharf in 2004, after more than ten years of development, 90 international liner routes have connected Nansha Port to more than 400 ports in more than 100 countries and regions in the world. Nansha has established a land and water transportation network covering Pearl River Delta urban areas, which efficiently connects itself with foreign countries through smoother logistics channels.

In conjunction with the national reform incustoms clearance, Guangzhou Customs has promoted the establishment of 36 inland “dry ports” with Nansha Port as the home port, and built a convenient, efficient and economical sea passage for goods in the Pan-Pearl River Delta region. With the help of “Rail-Road Combined”and“China-Europe Trains", the transportation time for exports to Europe is greatly reduced from that of sea transportation, and the cost is lowered by more than 50%, which has greatly promoted the logistics efficiency in countries along the Belt and Road.

Guangzhou Customs promotes regional customs integration reform and supports Nansha to build an international shipping logistics center. 

"Smart" customs reduce cost

On October 25, 2015, Guangzhou Customs took the lead in launching the “Internet + Easy Clearance” reform in Nansha, and initiated in-depth reform of customs clearance supervision. Now 227 online customs businesses have been implemented in the Nansha “Smart Customs” model.

Customs clearance procedures such as D/P, D/A, tax payment and clearance request that were previously required to be handled on site are gradually moved to be operated online. In result, the customs clearance time of each batch of goods is reduced by 0.8 hours to 5.4 hours, and work efficiency is increased by 80%.

Guangzhou Customs installed “intelligent checking robots” at Nansha Port to realize an all-weather automatic diversion operation for enterprises to declare goods in advance. At the same time, the wharf intelligent management system, together with the terminal system, generates unloading and shunting instructions, thus speeding up the flow of goods, and more effectively reducing the cost of customs clearance.

Guangzhou Customs actively expands the“Guangdong-Hong Kongcross-border warehouse”business.

Thanks to the national opening up strategic importance attached to Nansha, the volume of foreign trade has grown rapidly in the past three years, which facilitates Nansha to be a new window for China's opening up to the outside world. Now Nansha is making great strides towards a pioneer zone with open economy, a high-level opening-up gateway hub and a cooperation demonstration zone in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.