The 2021 Conference on Customs Clearance and Compliance Management & the Taihu Festival of Customs Broker and Specialist was held from Dec 9 to 10 in the city of Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province.
The conference, themed on the development and innovation of customs in the digital era, aimed to clarify the latest trends in the global economy and in foreign trade for customs personnel and for cross-border enterprises in the new era.
Over 400 participants attend the opening ceremony, both online and onsite, on Dec 10. They included government officials in customs departments, the senior executives of companies in foreign trade and organizers from commerce, port offices and other institutions. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Shen Guofang, former Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, set the tone for the conference by explaining how the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing geopolitical uncertainty had impacted on foreign trade and the international supply chain.
Wu Youyi, former chief engineer of the General Administration of Customs, offered further insights.
"With the global supply chain hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, China should further strengthen its opening-up and promote diversified trade and investment, and customs plays a great role in it," Wu said.
He made a speech on the strategies that can be employed for the development of the customs field and how the customs affairs of business and commerce will increasingly go digital during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).
"One strategy is to use advanced technology to make customs intelligent and automatic," Wu said.
The screenshot of "China Custom" WeChat mini program, which can provide over 30 kinds of services. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Zhang Wei, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, highlighted the digital economy and the digitalization of trade via a recorded video.
Five parallel symposiums were held to discuss the new forms of cross-border e-commerce, as well as the new authorized economic operator certification standards for enterprises and how technology benefits customs, among other topics.
A parallel symposium is held on Dec 10. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
