Green foreign trade to fuel innovation-led expansion

Party education campaign tipped to boost country's supply capacity, industrial chain

A team of drivers is busy loading new energy vehicles, or NEVs, onto a 14-deck vessel at Nansha Port in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

The ship boasts more than 7,500 parking places, with about 540 such spots on each deck.

These vehicles, produced by domestic automakers such as BYD, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co and Xpeng, will be driven on the roads of Thailand, Israel, Germany, Australia and Brazil, among other countries, later this year.

China's foreign trade is undergoing a green transformation, with traditional export categories such as clothing, household appliances and furniture giving way to a new wave of tech-intensive, environmentally friendly products as the nation transitions to a new era of green and innovation-led growth.

Exports of China's "new three" products — NEVs, lithium batteries and solar cells — witnessed a combined 61.6 percent year-on-year growth in the first half of this year, increasing overall export expansion by 1.8 percentage points, data from the General Administration of Customs, or GAC, show.

Highlighting a trajectory aimed at setting China firmly on the path to modernization, government officials and market observers said the Communist Party of China's ongoing thematic education campaign will further strengthen the nation's robust supply capacity and its firmly established industrial chain.

Launched in April, the education campaign enables members to equip themselves with the Party's new theories, helps the entire Party achieve unity in thought, will and action, and ultimately ensures that it strengthens its solidarity and better leads the Chinese people in forging ahead on a new journey.

As part of the campaign, the Party launched a research and fact-finding drive, with the aim of solving new problems and serving scientific decision-making.

Zhang Ke, deputy head of the GAC's Guangdong sub-administration, which is responsible for coordinating customs work with a total of 14 southern, central and southwestern regions of the country, said that to implement the education campaign effectively, customs authorities in Guangdong are primarily aiming to help the people and businesses.

After conducting comprehensive research and making productive visits to key export-oriented companies, several business operational issues and suggestions raised by exporters were promptly resolved, Zhang said.

He added that by adopting a meticulous approach, tailored measures were drawn up, with the main aim of bolstering the expansion of exports of the "new three "products from Guangdong. These strategic measures have resulted in substantial improvements to the overall export situation.

For example, the GAC's Guangdong sub-administration has coordinated with local customs branches to implement a number of practical assistance measures for exporters. It has guided companies in standardizing their customs declarations, and appointed specialized auditing personnel to significantly reduce the time cargo spends in transit at ports in Guangdong.

The sub-administration has also used the advantages of China-Europe freight train services to lower customs clearance costs and provide optimal clearance for NEV exports, Zhang said.

For example, Xinsha Customs, a branch of Huangpu Customs, has implemented a 365-day, around-the-clock appointment-based clearance model for roll-on, roll-off vessels carrying vehicles, reducing the average quarantine and inspection time to within one hour. This has greatly enhanced turnover efficiency at terminals and reduced operational costs for shipping companies.

Earlier this year, the GAC launched a project to use opportunities arising from the thematic education campaign to address unnecessary inland river freight charges levied on imported goods. This issue was raised by domestic companies.