The Qingdao Municipal Government Information Office held a press conference on the morning of May 22nd to introduce the innovative reform measures of the 2024 Qingdao Special Action Plan for Promoting Cross-border Trade Facilitation.

According to the briefing, Qingdao port authorities have focused on improving the business environment to facilitate the city's foreign trade development. As a national pilot city for cross-border trade facilitation, Qingdao, following the directives of the General Administration of Customs and the National Office of Port Administration, has launched a new round of special actions this year, introducing 26 specific measures across six key areas.

This round of innovative reform measures to promote cross-border trade facilitation includes enhancing the range of port services function, improving port clearance and logistics efficiency, advancing the development of new forms of cross-border trade, upgrading smart port construction, standardizing port operation services, in addition to intensifying policies to support and benefit enterprises. For instance, efforts are being made to deepen the "11+1" inter-provincial coordination mechanism in the Yellow River Basin to establish the region as the most convenient and cost-effective gateway to the sea. The pilot "Regular Ship" program is being implemented to provide expedited clearance services for international vessels with fixed routes, personnel, and companies, streamlining procedures with a "one-stop clearance" approach. Innovative regulatory models for intermediate trade, cross-border e-commerce, public overseas warehouses, and used car exports are being introduced to stimulate scale expansion and facilitate the development of new quality production capabilities for enterprises. A comprehensive "one-stop clearance" smart port platform is being enhanced to provide comprehensive services including clearance, logistics, and inspection through the integration with the international trade "Single Window" framework. Furthermore, the port service fee disclosure system is being improved to ensure transparency and accountability with charges listed in a public directory and updated through a real-time automated system with no additional charges beyond the listed items. The "Cross-border Trade Facilitation Express" service mechanism is undergoing improvements with regular collection of feedback from business entities and the implementation of a graded handling mechanism to address development challenges and enhance the satisfaction of enterprises and the public.

To promote cross-border trade facilitation, Qingdao Customs, upon studying the actual situations of Shandong and Qingdao, has formulated 50 specific measures to support the special action plan, ranging from expediting the entire customs clearance process, ensuring the stability of key commodity supply chains, expanding logistics networks to fostering new quality production capabilities, empowering open platforms, transforming port services with digital technologies, and providing immersive assistance to market entities. These efforts aim to continuously optimize the port business environment in Qingdao.