CHINA has made steady progress in trade facilitation and international customs cooperation during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), a customs official said on Monday.
Trade facilitation is crucial in advancing high-standard opening-up, improving the business environment, and safeguarding the multilateral trading system, Sun Meijun, head of the General Administration of Customs (GAC), told a press conference.
During the past years, the GAC has led annual initiatives to improve cross-border trade efficiency, introducing 108 reform measures aimed at creating a more convenient, secure and predictable business environment, which has been widely welcomed by enterprises.
Simplified clearance procedures and optimized supervision models have ensured faster cross-border logistics and smoother economic and trade exchanges, while institutional innovations have supported the growth of new forms of foreign trade, Sun said. Data showed that China has added or expanded 40 ports of entry since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), bringing the total to 311 nationwide, and 271 types of agricultural and food products from 81 countries and regions have been newly approved for import.
These efforts have underpinned steady growth in foreign trade. In 2024, China’s total goods trade reached 43.8 trillion yuan (US$6.16 trillion), maintaining its position as the world’s largest trading nation for the eighth consecutive year.
China has ranked among the top three trading partners for 157 countries and regions worldwide, Sun said. In 2024, China’s trade with Belt and Road Initiative participating countries reached 22 trillion yuan, comprising over 50 per cent of its total imports and exports. The nation’s trade with emerging markets, including ASEAN, Latin America, Africa and Central Asia, has expanded at an annual pace of more than 10 per cent since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), according to Sun.
Xinhua
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