Authoritative Interview: Learning and Implementing the Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China: Contributing Customs Power to High Quality Development and High Level Opening up

Contributing Customs Forces to High Quality Development and High Level Opening up (Authoritative Interview · Learning and Implementing the Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China)
——Interview with Sun Meijun, Director General and Party Secretary of the General Administration of Customs
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to steadily expand institutional opening up and further improve the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. The more we expand opening up, the more we need to coordinate development and security. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China continued to designate promoting high-quality development as the theme of China's economic and social development during the 15th Five Year Plan period, and made arrangements for coordinated development and security, expanding high-level opening up to the outside world, and promoting innovative trade development. How to implement the relevant arrangements of the plenary session? Our reporter interviewed Sun Meijun, Director General and Party Secretary of the General Administration of Customs.
Coordinate development and security, strengthen the national security barrier, and promote the construction of a strong trading nation
Reporter: The plenary session proposed to adhere to the coordinated development and security. As the "guardian of the country's borders", customs are at the forefront of opening up to the outside world and play an important role in maintaining national security and promoting the construction of a strong trading nation. What are the specific considerations?
Sun Meijun: General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the need to coordinate development and security, and the Fourth Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China has also made "adhering to coordinated development and security" one of the principles that must be followed for economic and social development during the "15th Five Year Plan" period. This provides a fundamental basis for the customs to fully fulfill its responsibilities and missions of guarding the country's borders and promoting development. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, the national customs will firmly implement the overall national security concept, integrate supervision into services, ensure high-quality development with high-level security, and achieve new progress and achievements. Since the 14th Five Year Plan, the customs have supervised an average of 5.2 billion tons of imported and exported goods with a value of 41.5 trillion yuan per year, making it the largest in the world and ensuring safety, stability, and controllability. In 2024, China's total trade in goods reached 43.8 trillion yuan, ranking first in the world for eight consecutive years. In the first 10 months of this year, imports and exports amounted to 37.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%, showing significant characteristics of market diversification, product greenization and optimization, and flourishing development of new trade patterns and models.
Security is the prerequisite for development, and development is the guarantee of security. In the next five years, there will be a significant increase in various uncertain and unpredictable risk factors, and the task of coordinating development and security will become even more arduous and heavy. The national customs will strengthen their bottom line thinking, carry forward the spirit of struggle, actively adapt to changes, and make new contributions to achieving decisive progress in socialist modernization with better supervision, higher safety, greater convenience, and stricter anti smuggling measures. They will strive to be the national defense that reassures the Party and satisfies the people. Focus on the following tasks:
One is to focus on building a strong national security barrier. Build an integrated all factor risk prevention and control system and a full chain supervision system, improve risk identification, early warning, and port interception and disposal capabilities, and safeguard the new development pattern with a new security pattern. Give full play to the "fist" role of port supervision, audit and inspection, and anti smuggling law enforcement, strictly prevent security risks related to politics, explosives, drugs, etc., severely crack down on key channels, key areas, key commodity smuggling and related illegal and criminal activities, strictly control the entry and exit inspection and quarantine, biosafety prevention, import and export commodity quality, and safety production responsibility, reject all kinds of unsafe risks outside the country, and firmly guard the first line of defense for national security.
The second is to focus on improving the level of customs clearance convenience. Continuously carry out special actions for cross-border trade facilitation, expand the scope of pilot cities, introduce more targeted and valuable facilitation measures, and create a market-oriented, rule of law, and international first-class port business environment. Expand the interconnectivity of the "single window" for international trade, promote convenient measures such as "combination ports", "ship side direct pickup", and "cross-border one lock", expand the pilot scope of the "one document system" and "one box system" for railway, public, water, and air multimodal transport, and facilitate efficient and convenient customs clearance of import and export goods.
The third is to focus on promoting innovative development in trade. Innovate the customs supervision system and mechanism, optimize and upgrade goods trade, promote the transformation and upgrading of product structure, market layout and development mode, and promote balanced development of import and export. Research and introduce customs policies and measures to promote the quality and efficiency of foreign trade, help enterprises explore diversified markets, expand intermediate goods trade, and green trade. Accelerate the cultivation of new driving forces in foreign trade and optimize the export structure. Actively expanding the import of high-quality consumer goods, innovating inspection and supervision models for advanced equipment, raw materials, key components, etc., and optimizing the import structure. Establish a sound regulatory system for new formats and models such as cross-border e-commerce, overseas warehouses, and "bonded+", improve export control and supervision mechanisms, maintain a safer and more stable industrial and supply chain, and provide support for smooth domestic and international circulation.
The fourth is to focus on the construction of smart customs. Further strengthen the leading and supporting role of technology, accelerate the integration of intelligent customs assembly and business model system reconstruction, and comprehensively promote the modernization of customs work. Strengthen the application of artificial intelligence and new regulatory equipment in customs supervision scenarios, empower technology to build a new form of customs supervision services that are networked, interconnected, digitally aware, intelligently analyzed, and automated, achieve timely supervision, fast and seamless customs clearance, and further improve regulatory efficiency and service levels.
Aligning with international high standard economic and trade rules, expanding high-level opening-up to the outside world
Reporter: The plenary session proposed to expand high-level opening up to the outside world and create a new situation of win-win cooperation. What aspects will the customs focus on implementing?
Sun Meijun: Adhering to openness, cooperation and mutual benefit is an inevitable requirement of Chinese path to modernization.   National customs should deeply study and understand, and ensure effective implementation. Focus on the following tasks:
One is to promote the "soft connectivity" of rules and standards, and actively expand the market through openness. Give full play to the role of customs as a hub for domestic and international dual circulation, actively connect with international high standard economic and trade rules, and reduce the "on border" and "behind border" barriers that restrict the flow of factors. Deepen the interconnection of the "single window" for international trade, achieve docking with more countries, and provide more online services through "one-stop service". Expand the scope of cooperation with "Authorized Economic Operator (AEO)" to provide AEO enterprises with more convenient customs clearance measures for exporting goods abroad. Fully leverage the global "Smart Customs" online cooperation platform built by China Customs and the role of the BRICS Customs Cooperation Demonstration Center (one platform, one center), deeply participate in global customs governance reform, and actively contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions.
The second is to promote the construction of open cooperation platforms and create diverse forms of open highlands. Steadily expanding institutional openness, anchoring the strategic goal of building a high standard Hainan Free Trade Port, and focusing on building a customs supervision system that is compatible with high-level free trade ports. Actively support the innovative development of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, Hengqin Guangdong Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, Shanghai Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone, and Free Trade Pilot Zone, create a high-level open platform, and make good use of global factors and market resources. Promote the transformation and upgrading of comprehensive bonded zones towards diversified functions, high-end industries, trade facilitation, and coordinated management, and better serve the construction of a new development pattern.
The third is to promote the "Smart Customs" partnership plan and jointly build the "the Belt and Road" with high-quality services. The high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" is an important path to expand high-level opening up and create a new situation of win-win cooperation under the new situation. We will deepen the implementation of the "smart customs" partnership plan, give play to the role of mechanisms such as the "the Belt and Road" customs food safety cooperation, China ASEAN animal and plant quarantine and food safety (SPS) cooperation, and China Central Asia customs cooperation, strengthen the connection with the joint construction of national development strategies, share the achievements of China's "smart customs" construction, expand new space for cooperation such as green trade, agricultural and food access, open up new paths for industrial chain supply chain cooperation, improve the new mechanisms for information sharing, law enforcement and mutual assistance, and serve to jointly build the "the Belt and Road" with high quality.
The fourth is to promote the layout of port opening and assist in the construction of international logistics channels. Scientifically formulate and implement the "15th Five Year Plan" for port modernization, promote the upgrading and improvement of port infrastructure and functions, construct important hub nodes of ports with high standards, and continuously enhance port traffic capacity. Give full play to the role of international cooperation mechanisms at ports, promote the improvement of port infrastructure construction in border countries, strengthen cross-border connectivity of software and hardware facilities, and facilitate international economic and trade exchanges. Promote regulatory models such as railway public water air multimodal transport and railway express, and vigorously support the high-quality development of international logistics channels such as China Europe (Asia) trains and the Western Land Sea New Corridor.
High standard construction of Hainan Free Trade Port to ensure smooth and orderly operation of customs clearance
Reporter: The "15th Five Year Plan" proposes to build Hainan Free Trade Port with high standards. On December 18th, Hainan Free Trade Port will officially launch the island wide lockdown, which is a landmark measure of China's unwavering commitment to expanding high-level opening-up and promoting the construction of an open world economy. After the closure, a special customs supervision area will be established throughout Hainan Island. How is the current progress of preparations for the island's closure?
Sun Meijun: The high standard construction of Hainan Free Trade Port is a major decision made by the Party Central Committee to comprehensively deepen reform and opening up in the new era. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to it, personally plans, deploys, and promotes it, and has issued a series of important instructions and directives, providing fundamental guidance for the construction of free trade ports. The General Administration of Customs is deeply studying and implementing the important instructions and directives of General Secretary Xi Jinping, implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, taking proactive and positive actions, focusing on the requirements of both being "flexible" and "well managed", and working together with relevant departments and Hainan Province to make every effort to prepare for all aspects and ensure the smooth and orderly closure of the entire island.
One is to innovate and establish a customs supervision system. In accordance with the regulatory requirements of "opening up the front line, regulating the second line, and promoting freedom within the island", multiple systems and supporting documents have been formulated and released, including customs supervision measures, value-added processing duty-free policies, etc. Launch and operate the Customs Smart Supervision Platform, establish a "one person, one code, one enterprise, one account, one item, one chain, one call, one response" smart supervision system, and promote high-quality development and high-level opening of Hainan through innovative regulatory systems.
The second is to establish a solid system for preventing and controlling major risks. Focusing on the full element risks of customs operation, relying on new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, we will build a risk management platform and risk identification model, establish source control, information sharing, joint analysis, and collaborative risk prevention and control mechanisms, and effectively improve regulatory efficiency and the ability to prevent and resolve risks. Strengthen the joint prevention and control of risks in key areas such as anti smuggling, and maintain a high-pressure situation to combat smuggling.
The third is to promote facility construction with high standards. Adhering to the principles of scientific planning and intensive sharing, we support Hainan Province in upgrading 8 ports for opening up to the outside world and constructing 10 "second-line ports" with high standards, all of which have completed formal acceptance, and all customs clearance operation guarantee projects have been completed and put into use.
The fourth is to carry out practical stress testing. We have launched a pilot program for the value-added tax exemption policy for 129 enterprises on the island, rolling out practical exercises for "second-line ports" customs clearance and single item simulation tests for "zero tariffs" on imported goods. We have organized more than 300 enterprises to conduct full process, full element, full coverage, and large-scale exercises, and overall progress has been smooth, laying a solid foundation for the smooth and orderly operation of customs clearance.
Next, we will anchor the strategic goals of building a free trade port, balance development and security, balance openness and security, and coordinate convenience and security. We will gradually construct a customs supervision system that is compatible with high-level free trade ports, create a market-oriented, rule of law, and international first-class business environment, and strive to build Hainan Free Trade Port into a special customs supervision area with international competitiveness and influence, and become an important gateway leading China's opening up to the outside world in the new era. (People's Daily reporter Ouyang Jie)