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Port is a portal of a country’s foreign exchange as well as a hub of international transport of goods. The efficient customs clearance gives the green light to international trade development and makes the road of economic and trade exchanges unimpeded.
Situated in the conjuncture of South China Economic Rim， Southwest China Economic Rim and ASEAN Economic Rim， being the only region in western China integrating sea， land， air and inland ports， Guangxi is China’s most convenient land and sea access to ASEAN countries. Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone （BGEZ） serves as a crucial portal of trade exchanges between Guangxi and ASEAN. Its efficiency of customs clearance matters the trade development in BGEZ， resources flows of its neighboring economic hinterland and market freedom within the CAFTA. Therefore， the BGEZ launched the Work Plan for the Integration of Port Customs Clearance in Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone in late 2014， to advance port customs clearance integration in the region， to make efforts to realize “one-time check in six cities”， to promote the facilitation of customs clearance and give BGEZ green light to enter the fast lane.
More Systematic， Standardized and Professional
There are many ports and various port types in BGEZ. According to the traditional mode of customs clearance， imported and exported goods in Chinese mainland must be declared to customs in the place where the enterprise is registered and the port where the goods is checked. The goods is only allowed to pass through designated ports， sometimes suffers from multiple check and is required to fill out all kinds of similar forms. The complicated customs clearance procedures greatly hampered the speed of port logistics in Guangxi. Hence， the integration of port customs clearance is needed so as to achieve customs clearance facilitation.
The integration of customs clearance means to establish a virtual regional data platform on the basis of different customs areas and fast customs clearance， thus to implement a new integration mode of “multi-point declaration and release， unified platform， regional linkage and joint inspection”， and achieve “one-time declaration， one-time check and one-time release”， namely， the “Three One-time” in customs declaration and inspection cooperation. The BGEZ is a pioneer and leader to promote the “Three One-time” reform. Friendship Pass in Pingxiang of Chongzuo city became one of the first batch of pilot ports in Guangxi. According to related pilot reform plan， at Friendship Pass， when enterprises enter declared data in “one-time declaration” client and send them to designated recipients， the electronic data of customs declaration will be completed. “One-time check” will be carried out when different departments need to inspect the same batch of goods. Enterprises will proceed to customs base on the information provided by “Three One-time” platform. As a result， the number of declaration， check and unpacking inspection will be reduced， which would greatly improve the efficiency and promote the facilitation of port customs clearance.
The integration of customs clearance is a systematic project. It not only requires a closer coordination of all ports in the BGEZ， but also the cooperation among checking departments like customs， border defense， inspection and quarantine， and maritime affairs， and port administration departments， foreign trade enterprises， as well as banks， tax administration and foreign exchange administration departments. For the BGEZ， the cooperation should not be restricted in port cities， but be an integrated and coordinated cooperation within the region. This requires the decision-makers to take the BGEZ as a whole and make top-level designs with more open thinking and a higher-level point of view， and to establish institutional norms for the region and provide a guarantee for the coordination of cities and departments in the BGEZ.
Apart from that， the facilitation of customs clearance also calls for the support of transportation infrastructure and informatization platforms. For a long time， the transportation infrastructure and informatization platforms of ports in the BGEZ lag behind those developed regions due to their lagging economic development. However， in the trend of China’s border opening-up and the construction of the upgraded CAFTA and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， the BGEZ is putting forth effects in establishing a 3D transportation network， expanding and rebuilding border and coastal railway sections， and practicing highway non-stop ETC systems， so as to promote customs clearance facilitation via transportation integration.
Facilitation of customs clearance， with no doubt， is reflected not only in efficiency， but also in the high-quality services provided by border control departments. In January， 2015， the signing and launching ceremony for a joint work to raise border check services was held by China’s Friendship Pass border checkpoint and the border station of Vietnam’s International Friendship Border Gate. Both sides promised to jointly improve border check services and unveiled a series of measurements for the convenience of people， i.e.， simplifying personnel border check procedures， opening restricted lanes for cross-border direct trains and green channels for fresh agricultural products， establishing linked checking mechanisms for port traffic， providing delayed customs clearance services for exit-entry vans； safeguarding traveler’s interests， and setting up cross-border assistance mechanisms， so as to improve border check services and promote customs clearance facilitation through international cooperation. Facilitation of Customs Clearance Opens up a “Convenient Channel” for Economic Development
The six cities in the BGEZ， lying at the border and coastal areas， enjoy great location advantages， and serve as the gateway between China and ASEAN. Ever since the establishment of CAFTA， China and ASEAN have witnessed closer economic and trade contacts as bilateral trade volume has expanded sharply. For the ASEAN countries， China is a huge market full of opportunities and challenges. For China， the ASEAN countries are important stops to enter the international market as well as the destinations for its industrial transformation. In the contacts between the two sides， the BGEZ， the southwest gate of China， is expected to have higher customs clearance efficiency.
The advance of the negotiations on CAFTA， the rapid development of bilateral trade， together with the facilitation of customs clearance， will bring god-given opportunities for tourism， border trade and city construction of Guangxi and the BGEZ.
In terms of personnel customs clearance， outbound travel to ASEAN is very hot. Cross-border and self-driving travel are also in the ascendant in the BGEZ. The simplified personnel customs clearance procedures and shortened customs clearance are undoubtedly another catalyst for ASEAN’s tourism as well as China’s border tourism. The open of Southeast Asia tourism routes， Guangxi’s ethnic custom and exhibition tourism routes， as well as the construction of resorts for self-driving travelers will bring new business opportunities for travel agencies， hotels and other relevant enterprises.
As far as customs clearance for goods is concerned， in the market-oriented economy， efficiency is the first priority of enterprises. High-efficient customs clearance is conducive to attracting people， information， capital and goods. Currently， some of the ports in the BGEZ have low efficiency in customs clearance， which has led to problems like traffic congestion and goods damage. This is one of the major reasons why some foreign trade enterprises are not willing to be cleared by ports in the BGEZ.
With the advancement of the integration of customs clearance in the BGEZ， these problems are expected to be readily solved. When more foreign trade enterprises choose to enter the ASEAN and even world market via ports in the BGEZ， the flow and accumulation of resources would provide opportunities for processing industries， providing economic basis for port cities， and driving the employment at the same time.
At present， Guangxi is trying to build itself into a new strategic pivot in southwestern China and south central China. Owing to the superior resources in the economic hinterland， and the continuously rising customs clearance efficiency in Guangxi， the BGEZ is bound to enjoy a better future. Since the facilitation of customs clearance is of great significance to the overall development and integration of the BGEZ， it is placed at the most prominent position in the blue print of the region’s in-depth reform and development.
In the condition that the importance of customs clearance facilitation is clarified， cities in the BGEZ need to promote the integration and facilitation of customs clearance in the region with a more open view and more coordinated cooperation， making the BGEZ the “convenient channel” for the economic and personnel exchanges between China and ASEAN.
Situated in the conjuncture of South China Economic Rim， Southwest China Economic Rim and ASEAN Economic Rim， being the only region in western China integrating sea， land， air and inland ports， Guangxi is China’s most convenient land and sea access to ASEAN countries. Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone （BGEZ） serves as a crucial portal of trade exchanges between Guangxi and ASEAN. Its efficiency of customs clearance matters the trade development in BGEZ， resources flows of its neighboring economic hinterland and market freedom within the CAFTA. Therefore， the BGEZ launched the Work Plan for the Integration of Port Customs Clearance in Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone in late 2014， to advance port customs clearance integration in the region， to make efforts to realize “one-time check in six cities”， to promote the facilitation of customs clearance and give BGEZ green light to enter the fast lane.
More Systematic， Standardized and Professional
There are many ports and various port types in BGEZ. According to the traditional mode of customs clearance， imported and exported goods in Chinese mainland must be declared to customs in the place where the enterprise is registered and the port where the goods is checked. The goods is only allowed to pass through designated ports， sometimes suffers from multiple check and is required to fill out all kinds of similar forms. The complicated customs clearance procedures greatly hampered the speed of port logistics in Guangxi. Hence， the integration of port customs clearance is needed so as to achieve customs clearance facilitation.
The integration of customs clearance means to establish a virtual regional data platform on the basis of different customs areas and fast customs clearance， thus to implement a new integration mode of “multi-point declaration and release， unified platform， regional linkage and joint inspection”， and achieve “one-time declaration， one-time check and one-time release”， namely， the “Three One-time” in customs declaration and inspection cooperation. The BGEZ is a pioneer and leader to promote the “Three One-time” reform. Friendship Pass in Pingxiang of Chongzuo city became one of the first batch of pilot ports in Guangxi. According to related pilot reform plan， at Friendship Pass， when enterprises enter declared data in “one-time declaration” client and send them to designated recipients， the electronic data of customs declaration will be completed. “One-time check” will be carried out when different departments need to inspect the same batch of goods. Enterprises will proceed to customs base on the information provided by “Three One-time” platform. As a result， the number of declaration， check and unpacking inspection will be reduced， which would greatly improve the efficiency and promote the facilitation of port customs clearance.
The integration of customs clearance is a systematic project. It not only requires a closer coordination of all ports in the BGEZ， but also the cooperation among checking departments like customs， border defense， inspection and quarantine， and maritime affairs， and port administration departments， foreign trade enterprises， as well as banks， tax administration and foreign exchange administration departments. For the BGEZ， the cooperation should not be restricted in port cities， but be an integrated and coordinated cooperation within the region. This requires the decision-makers to take the BGEZ as a whole and make top-level designs with more open thinking and a higher-level point of view， and to establish institutional norms for the region and provide a guarantee for the coordination of cities and departments in the BGEZ.
Apart from that， the facilitation of customs clearance also calls for the support of transportation infrastructure and informatization platforms. For a long time， the transportation infrastructure and informatization platforms of ports in the BGEZ lag behind those developed regions due to their lagging economic development. However， in the trend of China’s border opening-up and the construction of the upgraded CAFTA and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， the BGEZ is putting forth effects in establishing a 3D transportation network， expanding and rebuilding border and coastal railway sections， and practicing highway non-stop ETC systems， so as to promote customs clearance facilitation via transportation integration.
Facilitation of customs clearance， with no doubt， is reflected not only in efficiency， but also in the high-quality services provided by border control departments. In January， 2015， the signing and launching ceremony for a joint work to raise border check services was held by China’s Friendship Pass border checkpoint and the border station of Vietnam’s International Friendship Border Gate. Both sides promised to jointly improve border check services and unveiled a series of measurements for the convenience of people， i.e.， simplifying personnel border check procedures， opening restricted lanes for cross-border direct trains and green channels for fresh agricultural products， establishing linked checking mechanisms for port traffic， providing delayed customs clearance services for exit-entry vans； safeguarding traveler’s interests， and setting up cross-border assistance mechanisms， so as to improve border check services and promote customs clearance facilitation through international cooperation. Facilitation of Customs Clearance Opens up a “Convenient Channel” for Economic Development
The six cities in the BGEZ， lying at the border and coastal areas， enjoy great location advantages， and serve as the gateway between China and ASEAN. Ever since the establishment of CAFTA， China and ASEAN have witnessed closer economic and trade contacts as bilateral trade volume has expanded sharply. For the ASEAN countries， China is a huge market full of opportunities and challenges. For China， the ASEAN countries are important stops to enter the international market as well as the destinations for its industrial transformation. In the contacts between the two sides， the BGEZ， the southwest gate of China， is expected to have higher customs clearance efficiency.
The advance of the negotiations on CAFTA， the rapid development of bilateral trade， together with the facilitation of customs clearance， will bring god-given opportunities for tourism， border trade and city construction of Guangxi and the BGEZ.
In terms of personnel customs clearance， outbound travel to ASEAN is very hot. Cross-border and self-driving travel are also in the ascendant in the BGEZ. The simplified personnel customs clearance procedures and shortened customs clearance are undoubtedly another catalyst for ASEAN’s tourism as well as China’s border tourism. The open of Southeast Asia tourism routes， Guangxi’s ethnic custom and exhibition tourism routes， as well as the construction of resorts for self-driving travelers will bring new business opportunities for travel agencies， hotels and other relevant enterprises.
As far as customs clearance for goods is concerned， in the market-oriented economy， efficiency is the first priority of enterprises. High-efficient customs clearance is conducive to attracting people， information， capital and goods. Currently， some of the ports in the BGEZ have low efficiency in customs clearance， which has led to problems like traffic congestion and goods damage. This is one of the major reasons why some foreign trade enterprises are not willing to be cleared by ports in the BGEZ.
With the advancement of the integration of customs clearance in the BGEZ， these problems are expected to be readily solved. When more foreign trade enterprises choose to enter the ASEAN and even world market via ports in the BGEZ， the flow and accumulation of resources would provide opportunities for processing industries， providing economic basis for port cities， and driving the employment at the same time.
At present， Guangxi is trying to build itself into a new strategic pivot in southwestern China and south central China. Owing to the superior resources in the economic hinterland， and the continuously rising customs clearance efficiency in Guangxi， the BGEZ is bound to enjoy a better future. Since the facilitation of customs clearance is of great significance to the overall development and integration of the BGEZ， it is placed at the most prominent position in the blue print of the region’s in-depth reform and development.
In the condition that the importance of customs clearance facilitation is clarified， cities in the BGEZ need to promote the integration and facilitation of customs clearance in the region with a more open view and more coordinated cooperation， making the BGEZ the “convenient channel” for the economic and personnel exchanges between China and ASEAN.