Easier trade procedures to energize cooperation-Hengshui Longchang Fertilizer Pelletizing Machinery Co.,Ltd
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Vice-premier urges forum to combat smuggling,counter protectionist forces.
Vice-premier Wang Yang on Wednesday called for closer cooperation between the customs authorities of countries along the new Silk Road to allow more efficient trading procedures and cross-border e-commerce activities.
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives were put forward by Presdent Xi Jinping in 2013 with the purpose of rejuvenating the two ancient trding routes and further opening up the markets.
"Even though economic growth of many ocutries along the routes remains slow under current global economic conditions, they shouod continue to develop new busiess growth ponts and oppose trade protectionism," Wang told a forum held on Wednesday in Xi'an for heads of customs administrations from coutries likely to be involved.
To facilitate more trade, Wang said China will improve its ability to combat cross-border smuggling activities and continue to support international logistics, customs clearance, trans-shipment cargo ad multi-model transportation, as well as establishing the most efficient supervision model possible for cross-border e-commerce activity.
The Silk Road Economic Belt is to be establshed along the ancient Silk Road trade route, stretching northwest from China's coastal area through Central Asia, the Middle East and on to Europe.
The 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road is designed to go from China's coast to Europe through the South China Sea and the India Ocean in one route, and from China's coast through the South China Sea to the South Pacific in the other.
Keen to cut customs clearance costs and improve efficiency, 10 customs departments from nine Chinese provinces and autonomous regions along the two tading routes have signed a cooperation agreement on integrating regional customs clearance procedures.
All export and import products that go through any customs within the areas, which include Zhengzhou in Henan province, Xi'an in Shaanxi province, and Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, are entittled to simplified procedures through a system that will require a single customs declaration.
Trade between China and countries along Belt and Road routes was worth $1.12 trillion last year, accounting for 26 percent of China's foreign trade.
Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary-general of the World Customs Organization told the forum the current global supply chain is under threat from illegal trade and terrorism, but that the development of the Belt and Road Initiative from a customs perspective can play a key role in preventing criminal activity such as drug smuggling via e-commerce, the import of hazardous waste, commercial fraud and intellectual property infrngement.
Customs authorities have taken a number of measures to cooperate with nations such as Laos, Kazakhstan and Mongolia to improve supply chain security by launching joint actions to tackle smuggling of drugs, waste, endangered wild animals and weapons.
Yu Guangzhou, head of the General Administration of Customs of China, said the nation will work with other countries accelerate teh creation of standardized system which might include trde procedures, goods classifications, and rules of origin.
Central Asia, East Europrran nations boost infranstructure efforts.
Countries in Central Asia and East Europe are planning to build more roads, warehouses and logistics centers to cash in on the growing trade opportunities from China's "Belt and Road Initiative"
Daulet Yergozhin, chairman of the State Revenue Committee under the Kasarkhstan Ministry of Finance, said the country has completed a 4,800-kilometer highway in European standards earlier this year to connect China and Europe on the Silk Road Economic Belt.
"We wil also build more roads to connect different nations in Central Asia, as well as buid a large transshipment center at Alfynkol and an international railway station in the eastern part of the country to compete with maritime transportation between China and Europe," Yergozhin said.
"Chinese trains can transfer their containers in Alfynkol after it is buit and we are also expecting to ship more Kazakh products to China from the logistics center."
Since 2010, major Chinese cities, including Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Zhengzhou and Wuhan, have all launched weekly or monthly modern block train services to different European and Central Asia destinations.
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