The first China South (Africa) "Anzhi Trade" route in the country exported 170 million yuan in the first year
On August 31st, a batch of outdoor swimming pools marked with "SSTL" completed customs clearance procedures at Dongdu Customs under Xiamen Customs, and boarded the "COSCO WELLINGTON" cargo ship to Durban Port in South Africa, marking the one-year anniversary of the opening of the "SSTL" route between China and South Africa. Over the past year, this route has transported 4800 tons of export goods, with a cumulative value of 170 million yuan.
As the first "Anzhi Trade" cooperation project between China and other BRICS countries, the biggest advantage of the Central South (Africa) "Anzhi Trade" project lies in the "information sharing and mutual recognition of supervision" cooperation model between Chinese customs and South African customs. Under this mode, after the goods of the pilot enterprises participating in the project are inspected in the exporting country, the importing country will not repeat the inspection in principle, and will enjoy the convenience measures of two-way priority of document review and priority of release.
In the past year of operation, our biggest feeling is predictability. As a foreign trade industry that competes with time, the determined arrival time and predictable customs clearance time are among the competitiveness of our product exports, "said Chen Limei, the customs director of Xiamen Yilian Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Starting from August 31, 2025, the "Anzhi Trade" route between China and South Africa will be piloted through a "point-to-point" program, targeting low-risk and compliant import and export enterprises engaged in trade at designated ports. The two countries will cooperate in customs supervision and law enforcement, provide customs clearance facilitation measures, and achieve a more than 60% increase in overall clearance efficiency, optimize supply chain operation efficiency, and enhance trade facilitation levels.
After one year of operation, with the joint cooperation of Xiamen Customs and South African Customs, the operation of this route has been stable, ensuring efficient circulation of import and export goods. As of the end of August 2026, Dongdu Customs has completed 52 batches of pilot enterprise information exchange with Durban and Cape Town Customs, weaving trade links between BRICS countries with "convenience, safety, and efficiency". The import and export throughput of Xiamen and BRICS countries from January to July this year reached 258400 TEUs.
Guo Na, the head of the Comprehensive Business Department of Dongdu Customs, a subsidiary of Xiamen Customs, said, "According to the arrangement, the two countries' customs will release multiple trade benefits for pilot enterprises while monitoring the flow of goods throughout the entire clearance chain, achieving precise targeted supervision. At the same time, we will better rely on the pre arrival data sharing mechanism, like a radar, to detect clearance bottlenecks in advance and resolve business risks in advance
Standing at a new starting point for the first anniversary, Xiamen Customs will continue to deepen cooperation with South African Customs in various aspects such as trade facilitation, law enforcement cooperation, and optimizing data exchange models, and attract more ports and pilot enterprises to join the project.