General Administration of Customs: APEC economies should increase efforts to eliminate trade barriers

Dalian, August 22 (Xinhua) -- As an important part of the "China Year" series of activities organized by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the three-day APEC Customs Procedures Subcommittee held its second plenary meeting in Dalian, Liaoning on August 22, 2026. Zhang Baofeng, Deputy Director General of the General Administration of Customs of China, stated that APEC economies should increase their efforts to eliminate trade barriers, take more practical measures to break through cross-border trade bottlenecks, and make the Asia Pacific supply chain safer, more stable, and more efficient.

Safety and convenience are the eternal themes of customs governance, "said Zhang Baofeng. In the context of increasingly fragmented global supply chains, adjusting rules and standards and strengthening supply chain resilience have never been more urgent than now. We hope that all parties can take this meeting as an opportunity to deepen the docking of rules and standards, strengthen the coordination of risk prevention and control supervision, reduce transaction costs, improve customs clearance efficiency, and provide a safer, more transparent, and more predictable business environment for enterprises.

Currently, the Asia Pacific region accounts for one-third of the world's population, over 60% of the economy, and nearly half of global trade, making it an important engine for global economic growth. As a member of the Asia Pacific family, China's total import and export volume with other APEC economies reached RMB 18.03 trillion in the first seven months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 21%, which is higher than the overall level of China's goods trade during the same period. The potential for regional cooperation is enormous.

Observing smart devices, exchanging experiences and ideas, and building consensus on development... China Customs shared the latest progress of the Smart Customs Partner Program on site and held an exhibition of the achievements of smart customs construction. To further deepen APEC customs cooperation, Zhang Baofeng also put forward three proposals: first, to promote true multilateralism and jointly build a new pattern of open and inclusive Asia Pacific cooperation; Secondly, we should bravely stand at the forefront of the digital age and reshape the new paradigm of customs governance through technological innovation; The third is to coordinate security and convenience, and support the sustained prosperity of the Asia Pacific region with a strong and robust supply chain system.

On the same day, the meeting also announced the approval of China's proposed cooperation document "APEC Customs Promotes Technology and Innovation to Promote Trade Security and Facilitation Together".

The APEC Customs Procedures Subcommittee was established in 1994, and China Customs is the chairman of the APEC Customs Procedures Subcommittee in 2026. This meeting is another in-depth dialogue of the APEC Customs Procedures Subcommittee after the first plenary meeting held in Guangzhou in February this year. Focusing on cutting-edge topics such as artificial intelligence, smart customs, electronic bills of lading, cross-border e-commerce, and the "single window" for international trade, more than 100 customs representatives from all 21 APEC economies, relevant government departments, international organizations, and business representatives attended the meeting.