Promote “Three Interchanges” Great Customs Clearance and Build International Logistics Grand Passage

Regarding the proposal of "building a cross-border clearance cooperation mechanism along the routes and constructing an international logistics corridor" put forward in the 2016 Report on the Work of the Government, Yu Guangzhou, Commissioner of the General Administration of Customs, stated in an interview with reporters that customs will take promoting the "Three Mutually" large-scale clearance featuring "information exchange, mutual recognition of supervision, and mutual assistance in law enforcement" as the starting point, and make every effort to promote the construction of the international logistics corridor.

Yu Guangzhou said that customs promotes the construction of the corridor from both domestic and international dimensions. In terms of domestic inter-departmental collaboration, customs took the lead in formulating the *Implementation Plan for Promoting Large-scale Clearance Reform by Implementing the "Three Mutually"*, which identified 37 important reform measures. At present, all port authorities are advancing the work steadily and orderly. For example, the reform of the international trade "single window" has changed the port clearance process from "series connection" to "parallel connection", realizing one-time declaration by enterprises and unified feedback of law enforcement results, allowing data to run more and enterprises to run less. This reform was launched at coastal ports last year, and will be further extended to eligible inland ports this year.

In terms of international customs cooperation, we will focus on serving the development of the "Belt and Road" and vigorously promote international cooperation with customs of countries along the routes in the field of clearance facilitation. Up to now, Chinese customs has established cooperative relations with customs of 131 countries and regions, and signed 162 bilateral cooperation documents. Last year, the General Administration of Customs held the "Belt and Road" High-level Forum on Customs in Xi'an, which was attended by heads of customs from 71 countries (regions) and international organizations, and achieved a number of outcomes including the Xi'an Initiative on Connectivity, building a platform for cooperation among customs along the routes. This year, on the basis of the Xi'an consensus, we will negotiate and sign cooperation documents with more countries, actively promote implementation, expand the breadth and depth of cooperation, promote connectivity among customs along the routes, and ensure that where the layout of the "Belt and Road" reaches, customs international cooperation will expand to that place.