Crossing Mountains and Seas to Help Revitalization - From the Perspective of Archives, Examining the Shipping Routes of Agricultural and Food Products in Chongqing

The distinctive feature of Chongqing, the largest municipality directly under the central government in China, is its integration of large cities, large rural areas, mountainous regions, and large storage areas. For the approximately 9 million rural residents in the city, land carries their deepest emotions, and agricultural and food products carry their hopes for happiness. From self-sufficiency to setting sail to the sea, in recent years, Chongqing Customs has helped local agricultural and food products achieve "going global" value-added, exploring a new path to drive agricultural efficiency, increase farmers' income, and rural revitalization.

Opening the archives of Chongqing Customs, pages of information connect the growth process of Chongqing's agricultural and food product exports from scratch, from small to large, and also record the precious memories of Chongqing Customs personnel's continuous struggle and assistance in promoting the "big countryside" towards "great revitalization".

In the oral history archive of Chongqing Customs, "The Light Boat Has Crossed Ten Thousand Mountains - A Record of Chongqing Customs Resumption", the veteran of the establishment of the customs, He Xianming, recalled the scene of supervising the export of agricultural and food products such as pig bristles and tea at the beginning of Chongqing Customs resumption in 1980. These primary agricultural and food products were shipped from Chaotianmen Port, transported via the Yangtze River to Shanghai and the world, accurately marking the starting point of Chongqing's foreign trade in the early stage of reform and opening up, and also opening up the path for local agricultural and food products to go global.

As a traditional foreign trade product, the trade development curve of Chongqing's agricultural and food products can be clearly traced in customs statistical archives. From a slow start to a rapid rise, with the support and witness of customs, Chongqing's agricultural and food product exports have accumulated steadily, from a "new thing" that farmers dare not easily try, to a "golden key" that helps increase income: in 2024, Chongqing's agricultural product exports reached 1.63 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39.8%; In the first 11 months of this year, the export value has reached 2.03 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39.5%.

With the rapid development of foreign trade in agricultural and food products, market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. How to leverage the functions of customs, help industries break through bottlenecks, and achieve high-quality development, constantly affects the hearts of Chongqing customs officers. At this time, archives have become a "decision-making think tank" for solving problems and promoting upgrades.

Customs officials have found "tips" from past business records and industry development reports: promoting "graded and classified" inspection channels, implementing "7 × 24 hour" all-weather appointment clearance service guarantee, "checking and releasing fresh and perishable agricultural and food products as soon as they arrive", adopting various logistics organization methods such as rail sea intermodal transportation and "air+land transportation", guiding the construction of standardized fruit and vegetable planting and export bases in various districts and counties of Chongqing... One by one, "golden ideas" have been implemented, solving "old difficulties" and bearing "new fruits". And these 'new fruits' in turn nourish development, condensed in the archives as a' smart library 'of customs support for the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas.

Entering the Chongqing Customs Party Building Training Base, we aim to assist remote districts and counties in exporting agricultural and food products for the first time, ensuring zero delay clearance of fresh products, and transforming silent documents and photos into vivid teaching cases. They are no longer just business records, but also carry the spiritual map of Chongqing Customs personnel, consolidating the surging force of continuous struggle and pioneering, inspiring generation after generation of Chongqing Customs personnel to never forget their original aspirations, keep their mission in mind, adhere to the people's feelings, and faithfully fulfill their duties and missions of guarding the country and promoting development.

In recent years, with the support of Chongqing Customs, the export types of local agricultural and food products have expanded from 5 at the beginning of 2021 to more than 30 now, achieving a leap from "one-way export" to "two-way prosperity of import and export".