Customs officers check documents from a container ship in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. (YAO FENG / FOR CHINA DAILY)

China will support the orderly opening of freight airports, and explore and implement trials of international container transshipment and consolidation services at major seaports during the period of its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) a senior customs official said Thursday.

At a press conference in Beijing, Dang Yingjie, deputy director general of the National Port Authority Office of the General Customs Administration, explained the details of the implementation of the country’s port growth plan during of the period 2021-25.

The government will create a network of airport freight services with reasonable layout and complementary functions to meet the country’s new development model and promote the growth of the Belt and Road initiative, she said.

Airports with low freight and passenger traffic will be closed. The expansion of 10 international hubs such as Beijing and Shanghai, and 29 regional hubs such as Tianjin and Shenyang between 2021 and 2025 will be supported. The opening of non-hub airports and dual-use airports will be strictly controlled. And other cities will be encouraged to use hub airports to achieve an aggregation effect, she said.

In addition to improving the regulation of personnel, goods and means of transport in pilot free trade zones and free trade ports, the government will strengthen cross-border infrastructure interconnection projects in major land ports. between China and countries like Russia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

The government will also continue to promote the integrated development of the five main port poles of the Bohai-Rim region, the Yangtze River Delta region, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Great Bay region and the southern coastal regions. -est and southwest. It will speed up integrated customs clearance operations and further strengthen the global competitiveness of major seaports.

As part of the plan, China will support the opening of international passenger and cargo routes at existing ports in inland areas that meet the stipulated conditions. The country will add import ports for vehicles, pharmaceuticals and other goods inland. In addition, it will increase customs supervision sites if necessary to further enhance the efficiency of port operations.

The number of ports approved by the State Council, the Chinese Cabinet, reached 313 by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20). The volume of imports and exports of goods passing through Chinese ports amounted to 22.19 billion metric tons, with a total value of 146.37 trillion yuan ($ 22.7 trillion), during the five recent years, according to customs data.

Dang said the GAC will implement a rapid customs clearance model for the entry and exit of cross-border freight train services, and gradually expand pilot projects such as the introduction of more digital tools in land ports. with mature conditions.

There will be coordinated construction and sharing of inspection facilities and equipment at ports in the next stage. The government will build special lines for rail logistics bases in some ports. It will also speed up the construction of depots and railway stations in major China-Europe freight rail service centers.

High-level opening of Chinese ports and booming China-Europe Railway Express freight train services will be key to promoting China’s new dual-traffic development model and stabilizing global logistics and supply chains in the coming years, said Zhang Yongjun, deputy head. economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, based in Beijing.