China launched a new cross-border transport mode of "rail-sea-rail multimodal transport + Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR)" Monday in Xi'an City of northwestern Shaanxi Province to upgrade its logistics services for international trade and reduce transit time for goods exports and imports.
With the introduction of this new transport mode, a truck carrying a container of auto parts, which departed from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport on Monday, will arrive in Uzbekistan with a single seal and a single customs declaration.
The mode is an innovative exploration by China's General Administration of Customs to facilitate cross-border logistics.
The TIR is an international customs transit system that saves time and cuts costs for transport operators and customs authorities moving goods across borders. China became a member of the TIR system in 2016.
China has been expanding its rail-sea-rail multimodal transport network and the routes within the framework of the TIR in recent years.
On Friday, the logistics hub of China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao City of eastern Shandong Province launched its first TIR transport route to the Eurasian country of Azerbaijan.
Seven trucks loaded with high-end equipment departed from Qingdao after completing customs supervision procedures. They will exit China via Horgos Port, pass through Kazakhstan and reach Azerbaijan within 15 days.
To date, the SCO Demonstration Area in Qingdao has launched five international road transport routes connecting China with Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Azerbaijan, dispatching hundreds of cargo vehicles along these routes.
China launches new cross-border transport mode to facilitate int'l logistics services
