Customs cooperation empowers agricultural trade in Central and Eastern Europe (pictured)

The picture shows customs officers conducting on-site supervision of cross-border goods from Central and Eastern Europe, photographed by Wu Jingjing

Recently, the China Central and Eastern European Countries Customs Information Center (referred to as the "Customs Information Center") signed a joint statement with the China Central and Eastern European Countries Agricultural Cooperation Promotion Association to further strengthen cooperation in supporting the import of high-quality agricultural and food products with distinctive features from Central and Eastern Europe. The China Central and Eastern European Countries Customs Information Center is an international cooperation project commissioned by the General Administration of Customs to be operated and constructed by Ningbo Customs. The China Central and Eastern European Countries Agricultural Cooperation Promotion Association is led by the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

The signing of this Joint Statement has achieved the integration of the advantages of the cooperation platforms led by both parties, and is an active exploration of the new type of "inter customs cooperation" by the customs. Through platform integration, we aim to achieve policy exchange between the two sides, promote smooth trade between China and Bulgaria, facilitate people to people exchanges, improve the facilitation of agricultural and food trade between China and Central and Eastern European countries, and inject new momentum into bilateral trade. Aquatic products, honey, and wine from Bulgaria, known as the "Land of Roses," are expected to be more conveniently presented on the dining tables of Chinese consumers.

Agricultural and food product trade cooperation, as an important area of high concern for Central and Eastern European countries, is an important part of China Central and Eastern European countries' economic and trade cooperation. The China Central and Eastern European Countries Agricultural Cooperation Promotion Association was established in 2015 with the aim of deepening agricultural cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries on a mutually beneficial basis. Its headquarters is located in Sofia, Bulgaria. In May of this year, the federation established a liaison office and permanent pavilion in Ningbo, bringing new opportunities for promoting trade cooperation.

With the four China Central and Eastern European Countries Expo held in Ningbo, more and more characteristic agricultural products from Central and Eastern European countries have entered the daily lives of Chinese people. This not only brings more diversified consumption choices for Chinese consumers, but also opens up a new channel for agricultural and food product production enterprises and traders in Central and Eastern European countries to access the Eastern market, achieving a real win-win situation. According to customs statistics, as of now, 129 types of agricultural and food products have been granted access to 14 Central and Eastern European countries.

In Ningbo, a demonstration zone for economic and trade cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, 120 million yuan of agricultural products were imported from Central and Eastern European countries from January to October this year, exceeding the total import value of agricultural products in 2019 and nearly double the total import value of agricultural products in 2018.

At the same time, more and more clothing, furniture, and household appliances produced in China have entered every household in Central and Eastern Europe. The export of "new three types" products such as photovoltaics, energy storage products, and electric vehicles to Central and Eastern European countries has also shown an increasing trend. From January to October this year, the import and export trade volume between Ningbo and Central and Eastern European countries was 49.79 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.5%, of which exports were 41.24 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.4%.

Ningbo Customs efficiently serves the trade of goods in Central and Eastern Europe. The Customs Information Center website integrates three core functions: policy information communication and exchange, consultation and response, and monitoring and early warning. It has built a "one-stop" information service platform covering nine modules including laws and regulations, customs clearance guidelines, etc. As of October 2025, the website has published a total of 24000 articles on Chinese and English policy updates, convenience measures, technical standards, trade situations, etc., with a cumulative traffic of over 4.8 million people. (Ding Xiaojin, Zhang Anran/text)