The results of evaluation of 2024 cross-border trade business environment for containerized goods in sea ports were unveiled in the China Conference on Customs Clearance and Compliance Management held on December 12, Qingdao was rated as 4.5 stars for another term, and ranked among the top grade with the first place in the total scores for four years in a row.

Business environment at ports is a important constituent part of a city’s overall business environment. Since the beginning of this year, The Port Affairs of the Qingdao Municipal People’s Government alongside such other organizations as Qingdao Customs and Qingdao Port of Shandong Port Group, with a focus on stabilizing and enhancing the structure of foreign trade and concerns facing market players, have been taking solid steps to press ahead with the cross-border trade facilitation campaign and implement 26 reform measures in a bid to boost high-quality development and high-level opening-up across the city.

Customs clearance at ports continues to be optimized. With the application of the smart App “Yang Jie Tong”, sample drawing and testing can be traced across the course in a visual manner, and the duration can be shortened by 30%. The “green channel” inspections of goods at origin has been widely launched to ensure “zero-delay” prompt customs clearance of 899 shipments of fresh, alive and perishable agricultural and food products. Three mechanisms, namely, approval upon submission, priority for inspection under special circumstances and processing in advance when materials are inadequate, have been adopted to improve comprehensive efficiency by 20%. An all-out effort has been made to resolve the issue of “navigating in fog” and ensure ports can be open to navigation for 270 hours under low-visibility weather. The “seamless connection between berthing and unberthing” has been adopted for 400,000 tons-level ore carriers to save time by some 50%.  (Yu Bo)

Containers were being loaded or offloaded from vessels in Qingdao Port of Shandong Port Group.