Guangzhou Customs on Saturday rolled out nine tailored facilitation measures to ensure smooth and efficient clearance for personnel and goods for the upcoming 138th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair.
The nine facilitation measures, including an one-stop online service platform, "green channels" for priority clearance for personnel and goods, and express departure tax refund service, aim to streamline procedures through a combination of service guarantees, policy support, and sci-tech empowerment.
"As of October 11, a total of 72 batches of exhibits, with an estimated value of 3.96 million yuan (about 557,370 U.S. dollars), have successively entered China through entry points by sea or by air, including Guangzhou's Nansha port and the [Guangzhou] Baiyun [International] Airport. The received exhibits originate from 222 exhibitors across 13 countries and regions, including Egypt, Türkiye, Thailand and Japan, and cover categories such as kitchen appliances, hardware tools and machinery equipment," said Sun Aihua, an official with Guangzhou Customs.
Scheduled to begin on October 15 in Guangzhou City, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, the Canton Fair this year features an import exhibition area of 30,000 square meters and will center on enterprise needs and deal-making, with a record-breaking lineup of over 600 product launch events, a 37-percent increase from the previous session.
Guangzhou Customs rolls out facilitation measures for upcoming Canton Fair
The Pinglu Canal, a major new waterway in south China, has successfully concluded its first trial navigation for passenger vessels, marking another step forward its official opening in September.
Measuring 32 meters long and 5.4 meters wide with a certified capacity of 100 passengers, the test vessel docked smoothly at an integrated service area in Qinzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, at midday on Monday, marking the successful completion of the inaugural passenger service trial along the canal. According to the local maritime authorities, the trial was conducted without passengers on board and served as a comprehensive first-phase evaluation of the canal's navigability for passenger ships, the operational efficiency of its lock system, and the service capabilities of its waterside support facilities.
Monday's successful trail navigation came less than two weeks after the canal officially launched vessel trials on Aug 12, paving the way for future commercial passenger services on the waterway.
"Based on the entire navigation process this time, the channel dimensions of the Pinglu Canal, the operational efficiency of its locks, and the support capabilities of the waterside service areas all met the navigational requirements for tourist passenger vessels," said He Changhai, a law enforcement officer from the Qinzhou Maritime Safety Administration.
Designed to accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 tons, the 134.2-km Pinglu Canal is China's first major river-to-sea canal project planned and coordinated at the national level since 1949.
Stretching from the Pingtang River in Guangxi's Hengzhou City to the Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea, the canal is the backbone of the country's New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, which has evolved into a strategic route linking China's inland regions with countries of the Association of Souchteast Asian Nations and other global markets.
The corridor's rail service handled a record 1.425 million 20-foot equivalent units of cargo in 2025, up 47.6 percent year on year. As of early July 2026, its network has reached 593 ports in 128 countries and regions.
China's major river-to-sea canal completes first passenger vessel trial run ahead of official opening
