China ASEAN cross-border logistics enters a new stage of 'seamless clearance'

On December 24th, a container truck loaded with electronic products and daily necessities entered the Nanning Comprehensive Bonded Zone. After being inspected by intelligent devices such as safety smart locks, it departed at 12:00 and arrived at the Aidian Port at 15:00. After completing the automatic seal inspection in 30 seconds, the driver removes the smart lock and directly transfers to the border for exit. A week ago, the country's first cross-border trade multi zone linkage "Smart Pass" innovation reform project passed the completion acceptance in the Nanning area of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone, marking a new stage of "seamless customs clearance" for China ASEAN cross-border logistics.

In recent years, with the continuous expansion of China ASEAN trade scale, improving cross-border logistics clearance efficiency has become the key to regional competitiveness. To this end, the Nanning Area Management Committee takes the lead in promoting the "Smart Communication" project, solving the problem with "institutional innovation+technological empowerment", and building a linkage system of "1 smart supervision platform+N customs supervision places". The project integrates security intelligent locks, AI image recognition, satellite positioning and other technologies, and weaves an intelligent supervision network at key nodes such as Nanning Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Wuwei International Airport, and Aidian Port, achieving the "one click breakthrough" of information barriers in different supervision areas.

After the goods arrive at the Aidian Port, the license plate, cargo and carriage data are automatically collected through the intelligent checkpoint, and compared with the customs declaration information in real time to complete rapid inspection and release. Jia Tong, Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Business Department of Aidian Customs, told reporters that compared with the traditional mode, "Smart Pass" realizes real-time data sharing, and the entire process of customs transfer is electronic, automated, paperless, and relies on GPS real-time monitoring, significantly reducing the clearance time of vehicles. At the same time, automatic inspection instructions are triggered for vehicles with abnormal information, achieving seamless customs clearance, efficient supervision, and risk prevention for cross-border trade. These intelligent upgrades have greatly improved the efficiency of port clearance, bringing significant timeliness and cost-effectiveness to enterprises and logistics chains.

In the past, customs clearance at noon had to wait until work in the afternoon, and manual operations took a long time. Now, customs clearance can also be completed outside of working hours. Goods sent from Nanning Comprehensive Bonded Zone to Hanoi, Vietnam can be delivered directly within 12 hours, and logistics information can be checked and controlled throughout the process. Lu Shangjian, Deputy General Manager of Guangxi Xiecheng Logistics Co., Ltd., who is responsible for customs clearance of this batch of goods, deeply felt this. We verify the compliance of the padlock through technical means, automatically complete the sealing operation, and AI image recognition can quickly determine whether the box lock is properly hung without manual intervention. ”Ma Bo, the head of the Customs Inspection Department at Nanning Post Office, told reporters that the real-time positioning function of the security intelligent lock can achieve transportation trajectory tracing and intelligent warning, ensuring real-time monitoring of the entire transportation process.

Guo Zhiqiang, head of the Deepening Reform Department of the Free Trade Innovation and Development Bureau of the Nanning Area Management Committee, introduced that compared with the traditional model, the "Smart Pass" project simplifies the process. From the origin to the destination, the goods only need to be declared once, and the system will automatically seal them. The entire process does not require pre verification, achieving "seamless customs clearance". Secondly, cross departmental collaboration has become smoother. In the past, regulatory data standards and operational norms were not unified across different regions and departments, making collaboration particularly challenging. Now 'Smart Pass' has unified these standards and regulations, and the cooperation between departments is more seamless.

Since the trial operation of this project in September this year, the average supervision, verification, and sealing time for cross-border transit vehicles has been reduced by more than 90%. The overall clearance time for multi zone transit goods has been significantly shortened from 3-4 days to 1 day, and the comprehensive cost of cross-border logistics for enterprises has decreased by an average of 15%. With the support of project technology, from January to October 2025, the import and export value of Aidian Port will exceed 100 billion yuan for the first time, reaching 119.34 billion yuan, ranking third among land border ports in Guangxi.