From Version 1.0 to 7.0, Ningbo's transformation and persistence in cros...

Nurtured by the sea and prospered through its port, Ningbo has consistently sought new possibilities for cross-border trade facilitation.

On April 10th, Ningbo unveiled its latest round of work plans for deepening cross-border trade facilitation reform, with the highly anticipated 7.0 edition taking center stage.

The 7.0 version blueprint addresses four key aspects: facilitating domestic-international dual circulation, empowering sustainable development in international trade, promoting optimization of foreign trade structures, and enhancing corporate satisfaction. It introduces over 30 major measures, reinvigorating the call to action for further reforms in cross-border trade facilitation.

30 facilitation measures to create the optimal business environment

In terms of regulatory services, Ningbo will further shorten the quarantine approval duration, enhance customs clearance efficiency for fresh agricultural products, improve ship handling capacity, streamline procedures for entry of international vessels, optimize air cargo support at airports, and initiate pilot trials for processing trade energy consumption reform. Additionally, it aims to densify its air freight network.

To invigorate continuous growth in international trade, Ningbo will upgrade "Yong E-Trade" - a one-stop international trade service platform - and push forward intelligent customs construction and enhancement of laboratory capabilities at ports. Efforts will also be made to improve export tax rebate convenience and facilitate cross-border foreign exchange payments.

"The nation's first-of-its-kind 'Yong E-Trade' platform, after launching, was followed by another national pioneering initiative - 'Port Cloud Loan', a financial product tailored for small and micro enterprises at ports, which helps alleviate their difficulties in accessing financing and high costs. So far, the platform has processed nearly a hundred loan applications online," said a related official from the Ningbo Port and Shipping Affairs Bureau.

To promote structural optimization in foreign trade, Ningbo will refine the precision of cross-border trade services, increase support for AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) advanced-certified enterprises, strengthen backing for imported cold-chain commodities, and explore formulating positive lists for cross-border scientific research materials. It also supports information sharing among processing trade companies.

According to the official, the launch of the country's first-ever joint incentive measures across departments for local-level AEO certified enterprises can extend the list of benefits enjoyed by these businesses, creating synergistic demonstration effects that significantly boost enthusiasm for certification applications.

Moreover, Ningbo plans to intensify technical trade measure reviews and responses, expand high-level opening-up trials for cross-border trade and investment, deepen the "Twin Cities" cooperation between Hangzhou and Ningbo, and perfect port consultation mechanisms to enhance corporate satisfaction.

Over recent years, the continuously improved port business environment has been instrumental in driving Ningbo's open economy forward.

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Operations underway at the container terminal in the Chuanshan Port Area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, April 10th. (Photographed by Wu Mengkai & Sun Jiali).

Version updates showcase Ningbo's distinctive features

Looking back on the journey so far, since Ningbo initiated its first round of specialized actions for cross-border trade facilitation reforms in 2018, the city has implemented six rounds of such reforms. These efforts have borne fruit across the board:

By pioneering a new regulatory model for cross-border e-commerce export warehouses, Ningbo introduced the practice of inspecting before loading for e-commerce export goods, reducing customs clearance time by 1 to 2 days.

For the first time, it introduced a "No Inspection Before Departure" mechanism for foreign vessels about to set sail, averting unnecessary delays of around 200 hours per month on average.

The city deepened the "One Ship, Multiple Certificates, One-time Processing Plus Non-stop Operation" service, shortening the average completion time by over 90% compared to statutory deadlines, saving shipping companies tens of thousands of yuan daily in operating costs.

A representative from the Ningbo Port and Shipping Affairs Bureau remarked, "From Version 1.0 to 6.0, our focus was primarily on breakthroughs in customs clearance and logistics sectors, improving depth of innovation, precision of scientific empowerment, and warmth of service guarantees. We've achieved phased success, ranking among the forefront in overall import and export clearance efficiency among coastal ports nationwide."

However, the official candidly admitted that compared to cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen, Ningbo's systemic nature of cross-border trade facilitation reforms was not yet sufficient, with actual outcomes needing further refinement, and its brand highlights not standing out prominently.

These issues formed the core of what Ningbo aimed to address when crafting the 7.0 edition of its cross-border trade facilitation reform plan. Responding to feedback from businesses, who under complex and challenging external trade conditions eagerly awaited a new wave of supportive measures, the 7.0 version emphasizes Ningbo's unique characteristics.

In key tasks, Ningbo identified over ten selective and distinctive reform initiatives based on practical needs and demands of businesses. These include optimizing regulatory models, increasing air freight capacity supply, enhancing the convenience of tax refunds and foreign exchange payments, supporting imports of cold-chain products, expanding cross-border investments, and deepening the "Twin Cities" cooperation between Hangzhou and Ningbo.

The 7.0 edition puts greater emphasis on systematic integration. This year, Ningbo pays closer attention to comprehensive services for foreign trade firms and personnel, extending reform measures to high-frequency trade areas such as foreign exchange payments, cross-border investments, financial support, credit insurance, and trade settlement. Moreover, it balances maritime and aviation interests by extending reforms to air transport hubs, striving to make entry and exit procedures more convenient for people and continuously optimizing goods clearance processes.

The 7.0 version particularly focuses on ensuring that businesses feel the impact of these changes. Ultimately, whether the business environment is good or not is decided by the businesses themselves. This year's reform measures highlight value-added services as a driver, streamlining regulatory services, leveraging intelligent services, and providing precise services to reduce steps, cut time, and lower costs in import-export clearance, thereby significantly enhancing corporate satisfaction.

Last month, the "Air-to-Air" international transit transportation service resumed operations. Leveraging Ningbo Airport as an intermediate hub and utilizing existing international air freight routes, this model extends air transport distances, enabling cargo movement between previously unconnected airports. Within just one month, the cargo volume surpassed 110 metric tons.

"This model enabled us to swiftly transport auto parts and electronic components produced in Vietnam to Korea without changing transportation modes during the journey, trimming down logistics time and costs," said Zhu Xiang, Director of Business Development at YTO Airlines.

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Cargo being loaded onto aircraft at Ningbo Lishe International Airport. (Photographed by Hu Bobo & Sun Jiali).

Behind the updates, core services remain consistent

"Thanks to the assistance of the 'Yong E-Platform', we were able to secure a loan of several hundred thousand yuan, helping us navigate through the darkest period of plummeting orders," said the head of a home products export enterprise, still expressing gratitude months later.

The nation's first-of-its-kind 'Yong E-Platform', has also pioneered a specialty financial product called 'Port Cloud Loan' tailored for small and micro enterprises at ports across China. This exclusive online financial service offers higher credit limits, lower interest rates compared to similar products, flexible borrowing and repayment options, and daily interest calculation, earning widespread acclaim from businesses.

As of now, the platform has facilitated nearly a hundred online loan applications from small and micro enterprises, with a single financial institution, the China Construction Bank, having extended over 560 million yuan in credit lines.

From Version 1.0 to 7.0, while the measures to optimize the port business environment have evolved, the original intention to enhance corporate and public satisfaction and sense of gain, the determination to tackle bottlenecks and challenges in cross-border trade, and the 'Ningbo Approach' of addressing uncertain situations with determined reform, have remained steadfast.

Last year, the total import and export trade volume through the Ningbo port reached 2.4 trillion yuan, ranking 5th nationwide. The Ningbo-Zhoushan Port handled 1324 million tons of cargo throughput, remaining at the world's top spot for 15 consecutive years; it also moved 35.301 million TEUs of containers, solidifying its position as the third-largest in the world. The Ningbo-Zhoushan International Shipping Center Development Index soared to 9th globally, marking a historic leap.

In the first two months of this year, Ningbo saw a strong start to its import and export trade, achieving a total value of 400.34 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 13.9%. All three indicators-total import and export value, export value, and import value-reached new historical highs for the same period.

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Customs officers at Ningbo Lishe International Airport are supervising the handling of international transshipment cargo at the airport's international cargo terminal. (Photographed by Yu Zhong and Sun Jiali).

Reform endeavors unceasingly march onward

Last month, the General Administration of Customs convened a deployment meeting for a special action program on cross-border trade facilitation, deciding to conduct a five-month concentrated effort in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Ningbo.

In light of the 7.0 version plan, how does Ningbo intend to proceed with deepening cross-border trade facilitation reforms? According to the scheme, Ningbo will roll out over 30 key measures focusing on four aspects: facilitating smooth domestic-international dual circulation, empowering sustainable growth in international trade, promoting the optimization of foreign trade structure, and enhancing corporate satisfaction.

"The plan involves integrating reforms to elevate coordination, implementing innovative reforms to boost satisfaction, building digital benchmark scenarios driven by demand, and leveraging value-added services to serve the real economy, ultimately contributing to making Ningbo the city with the optimal business environment," said a relevant official from the Ningbo Port and Shipping Affairs Bureau.

To facilitate smoother domestic-international dual circulation, Ningbo is introducing new strategies in regulatory services. The city will further compress the duration of quarantine approvals, expedite customs clearance for fresh agricultural produce, enhance vessel operational efficiency, and streamline maritime administrative services, entrance procedures for international voyages, and air cargo support at airports. It will also encourage trials for processing trade energy consumption reform.

Empowering continuous growth in international trade requires breaking new ground with intelligent services. Ningbo will strive to upgrade the "Yong E-Trade" one-stop international trade service platform, advance the construction of smart customs, strengthen the capabilities of port laboratories, and improve the convenience of export tax rebates and foreign exchange payments.

To precisely support the optimization of foreign trade structures, Ningbo will intensify efforts to empower and cultivate AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) advanced-certified enterprises, propel the development of cross-border e-commerce, support the import of cold-chain products, and explore the establishment of a positive list for cross-border use of scientific research materials. The city will also encourage information sharing among processing trade companies.

In addition, to amplify corporate satisfaction, Ningbo will invest heavily in value-added services. It will further unleash the benefits of the "active disclosure" policy, step up its evaluation and response to technical trade measures, widen the scope of high-level opening-up trials for cross-border trade and investment, deepen the strategic cooperation between Hangzhou and Ningbo known as the "Twin Cities", and refine the port consultation mechanism.

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