China’s four free trade zones in Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong and Fujian will have a connected customs system, officials said at a meeting last week.

The Shanghai FTZ has been in operation for nearly three years and the other three have opened for about one year. Together, they yielded 25 innovative customs practices for copy by other places in China and received praises for facilitating trade and lowering business cost.

Shanghai Customs, for example, adopted an automatic inspection system in some places, shortening cargo clearance time by 41.3 percent for imports and 36.8 percent for exports.

Fuzhou and Xiamen customs streamlined the ECFA (Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement) formalities for goods to and from Taiwan and cut the clearance cost by 8 percent.

However, customs innovations vary in quality and standards. The next step in customs reform will be strengthening top-level design, officials said.

Source: Shanghai FTZ Government.cn