China's foreign trade steadies with quality growth amid cross-border facilitation drive

Diverse cross-border trade facilitation measures implemented across China have helped maintain stable trade volumes while improving the quality of the country's foreign trade.

East China's Fujian Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), building on the national single-window customs clearance system, has launched a smart service platform that incorporates Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) tariff policies.

Through its AI-powered algorithm, the platform enables enterprises to obtain customized optimal tariff solutions with one-click analysis, while facilitating instant approval and issuance of certificates of origin.

Enterprises in Fujian Province have independently issued origin declarations for exports worth over 2.4 billion yuan (about 334 million U.S. dollars) this year -- ranking first nationwide -- providing strong support for businesses expanding into RCEP markets.

In Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, customs authorities are actively promoting a new rail-sea intermodal regulatory model featuring "single bill of lading" and "single container" systems. Under this model, companies can complete customs clearance and inspection at inland ports before sending goods by rail to seaports for direct loading, eliminating container transfers and duplicate declarations, with a single bill of lading covering the entire process.

Since January, Qingdao Port has handled over 1.74 million TEUs of rail-sea intermodal cargo, up 13 percent year on year, maintaining its position as China's leading coastal port for this service.

The Dalian Area of China (Liaoning) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, has introduced an inspection model for lithium battery export packaging that ensures the compliance of reusable packaging boxes, effectively solving the long-standing challenges of single-use plastic containers -- high costs and environmental waste.

This model has facilitated over 190,000 cycles of reusable packaging this year, saving enterprises more than 38 million yuan (about 5.3 million U.S. dollars) while promoting green logistics and energy efficiency.

Nationwide, the one-stop cross-border mail clearance platform, launched just over a month ago, has already cleared over 90,000 international mail items, cutting average clearance time by five hours per item and reducing agency fees.

"We consistently prioritize trade facilitation, streamlining declaration processes and upgrading smart port systems to enhance efficiency without compromising security. Next, we will expand reforms to energize foreign trade and better integrate Chinese goods into global supply chains," said Dang Xiaohong, deputy director-general of the National Office of Port Administration under the General Administration of Customs.

China's foreign trade steadies with quality growth amid cross-border facilitation drive

The "soft landing" of the China-EU electric vehicle case will greatly boost market confidence and inject new momentum into China-EU cooperation in automobile trade and investment, a spokeswoman of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

He Yongqian, the spokeswoman, made the remarks after China and the European Union (EU) agreed on the necessity of providing general guidance on price undertakings for Chinese companies exporting battery electric vehicle (BEV) passenger cars to the EU.

"China and the EU simultaneously announced on Monday that they had achieved positive outcomes following multiple rounds of consultations on the EV case, a development that has drawn wide attention at home and abroad. Industry players from both sides have 'highly welcomed and fully endorsed' the outcome, saying the 'soft landing' of the case is expected to greatly boost market confidence and inject new momentum into China-EU cooperation in automobile trade and investment. Some EU politicians have described it as a positive step toward building a sustainable China-EU trade relationship, and said it demonstrated that resolving trade differences through partnership remains feasible," she said.

"Against the current international backdrop, China and the EU, acting in a spirit of mutual respect and within the framework of WTO rules, have properly addressed the EV case, which is of significant positive importance. The outcome will not only contribute to the sound development of China-EU economic and trade ties and help safeguard the stability of the global automotive industrial and supply chains, but will also send a clear and strong signal that both sides are willing to uphold a rules-based international trading order, setting a good example for countries to resolve differences through dialogue and consultation and injecting greater certainty and positive energy into global economic growth," she said.

"China appreciates the spirit of dialogue showed by the EU side and stands ready to work with the EU, building on the current positive outcomes, to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two sides, maintain dialogue and communication, and support stable industrial and supply chains on both sides, continue to deepen cooperation on the basis of market principles, and make active contributions to the global green transition," she added.

"Soft landing" of China-EU EV case to significantly boost market confidence: MOC spokeswoman