China sets up mechanism to share commodity quality, safety information with 35 countries, regions

China has set up a mechanism to share commodity quality and safety information with 35 countries and regions during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), according to a senior official of the General Administration of Customs (GAC) in Beijing on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference, Zhao Zenglian, deputy head of the GAC, announced the establishment of a collaborative mechanism with domestic departments, including market supervision, industry and information technology, and commerce, to address defective imported and exported products. This initiative aims to enhance interdepartmental cooperation and strengthen joint governance over the quality and safety of cross-border commodities.

"Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan, customs authorities have inspected over 9 million batches of imported and exported goods, and returned over 10,000 batches of non-compliant mineral products and recycled metals. Strictly prohibiting the entry of foreign waste, customs authorities have returned over 4,000 batches of solid waste and initiated investigations into 589 criminal cases involving the smuggling of waste. We have conducted comprehensive inspections of hazardous materials at ports of entry, uncovering over 9,000 cases of false or concealed declarations and identifying over 130,000 batches of non-compliant hazardous materials, all in an effort to safeguard national border security," said Zhao.

Focusing on products closely related to public life, such as clothing, home appliances, and infant and toddler products, he said the GAC has detected 12,000 batches of non-compliant goods and 68,000 non-compliant vehicles.

He said through innovative regulatory models, the clearance time for imported mineral products and exported lithium batteries has been reduced by over 80 percent.

Smart inspections of imported bulk commodities have helped enterprises increase economic benefits by 1.8 billion yuan (about 251 million U.S. dollars) and detected 39,000 batches of underweight imported goods, helping enterprises recover nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars) in economic losses.

China sets up mechanism to share commodity quality, safety information with 35 countries, regions

China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Tuesday emphasized the importance of upholding international rules, saying that the conflict between the United States and Iran, which has lasted for over a hundred days, has severely impacted the regional and international situation.

Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, made the remarks during the 16th Meeting of BRICS National Security Advisors and High Representatives on National Security held in New Delhi, India.

He said that the recent signing of the first phase of the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, along with the conflict, has made many things clear to us.

The first is the importance of upholding international rules, Wang said at Tuesday's conference.

"The settlement of any international and regional hotspot issues should be based on abiding by international rules. The law of the jungle may succeed for a while, but it is not sustainable," he said.

The second is the importance of respecting national sovereignty, Wang said, adding that territorial integrity shall not be violated and a country's internal affairs shall not be interfered with. This is the most basic bottom line of international justice, he noted.

The third point is the importance of establishing a new vision of security, Wang said.

"Countries are increasingly becoming a community with a shared future. The practice of seeking absolute security of oneself at the expense of others will only backfire," he said.

The Chinese top diplomat said that the fourth is to understand the significance of new forms of war. Unconventional warfare, such as information warfare and cyber warfare, has become more visible in recent conflicts. Facing interwoven traditional and non-traditional security threats, it is the right time for BRICS countries to enhance dialogue and cooperation on security affairs.

China's top diplomat stresses int'l rules at BRICS meeting