Ningbo launches a new round of cross-border trade facilitation reform
The high-quality development of foreign trade cannot be separated from the continuous improvement of trade facilitation level. On April 21st, the reporter learned from the Ningbo Port Office and Ningbo Customs that Ningbo has launched a new round of cross-border trade facilitation reform and issued the "Several Measures for Continuously Deepening Cross border Trade Facilitation Reform at Ningbo Port in 2026".
These measures focus on four core areas: innovative customs clearance supervision, cultivation of new foreign trade formats, comprehensive guarantee of port factors, and comprehensive services for enterprises, totaling 24 items. This year's reform cycle has been extended by one month compared to previous years. Based on a comprehensive review of national policies, we will innovate and integrate multiple local voluntary actions.
The answer given by Ningbo regarding the demand for innovative development is to empower industrial innovation through regulatory innovation.
For example, in response to the "new three types" (new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products), integrated circuits, recycled metals, and other innovative and outward oriented characteristic industries, we plan to launch customized regulatory services such as the "new three types" overseas direct train, the "differentiated qualification assessment+one policy" for the import of important production factors, differentiated inspection of recycled metals, bonded maintenance and capacity expansion, etc., to break through the bottlenecks that restrict the clearance of new formats and products.
Taking digital reform as the driving force, Ningbo will accelerate the construction of a digital base for smart ports, promote smart applications such as the "Yongzhi" heavy box inspection robot, AI document review, and customs intelligent ETC (electronic non-stop toll collection system), promote the landing of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and big data in all scenarios of ports, and create an innovative paradigm for smart supervision and intelligent services.
Focusing on the urgent needs and concerns of enterprises, Ningbo will comprehensively upgrade the "single window" for international trade, build a digital platform for small and medium-sized enterprise credit insurance, deepen cross departmental joint incentives and cross customs cultivation for AEO (certified operators) enterprises, optimize pharmaceutical import customs clearance, exchange rate risk avoidance, foreign-related legal services, standardize port related enterprise fees, and reduce institutional transaction costs for enterprises.
Optimizing the business environment is a never-ending race. Since the launch of cross-border trade facilitation reform in 2018, Ningbo has adhered to a problem oriented, demand oriented, and effect oriented approach, promoting a series of reform and innovation measures to be implemented and effective, and leading the country in the construction of port business environment.
By 2025, Ningbo Port will achieve an import and export volume of 2.7 trillion yuan, accounting for 5.88% of the national total, 0.38 percentage points higher than the target of the 14th Five Year Plan. The port's customs clearance efficiency will continue to lead, logistics costs will steadily decrease, and the sense of gain for enterprises will significantly increase.
The responsible persons of Ningbo Port Office and Ningbo Customs have stated that the next step will be to achieve authorization and implementation of a number of pilot projects such as international health port smart quarantine through regular scheduling and collaborative promotion, timely solve the bottlenecks and difficulties in customs clearance, logistics, financing, etc., and deeply integrate the reform of cross-border trade facilitation into the entire process of building a first-class innovation ecology and a first-class business environment.