Staff members from Ningbo Customs verify product information in a cross-border e-commerce warehouse on June 17.[Photo/China Daily]

City's historical roots include role as maritime silk road hub 

Ningbo, a key starting point for the maritime silk road in ancient times, continues to be a powerhouse for cross-border e-commerce trade in modern times. 

The city in East China's Zhejiang province became a cross-border e-commerce pilot area at the end of 2012. In November 2013, cross-border e-commerce bonded imports began in the Ningbo Free Trade Zone with support from the Ningbo Customs District of China.

Taking advantage of Ningbo's seaports and solid industrial and logistics foundation, Ningbo Customs reported fast growth in cross-border e-commerce business in recent years. 

During the cross-border e-commerce festival, known as June 18 shopping festival from June 1-18 in China, Ningbo Customs handled 7.93 million declarations for cross-border e-commerce imports, with a total value of 2.09 billion yuan ($259.24 million), increasing 9.46 percent and 40.43 percent from the same period in 2019. 

Cross-border e-commerce is an emerging sector in foreign trade and plays an important role in serving people's increasing demand for a better life. Ningbo Customs has been promoting the concept of "inclusiveness, prudence, innovation and coordination" in everyday work to support the business. The customs reported outstanding results among cross-border e-commerce pilot cities in innovating on supervision model, optimizing supervision procedures, unlocking potential and improving the business environment.

In 2019, Ningbo Customs introduced eight measures to bolster cross-border e-commerce business, which attracted great attention from society. Meanwhile, aiming to ensure the quality of products on cross-border e-commerce platforms and protect rights of consumers, the customs randomly checked 500 batches of goods covering food, maternal and baby-care products, toys and apparel. Samples were sent to qualified labs for testing to stop low-quality products from entering into the market. 

In 2019, Ningbo Customs handled more than 100 million declarations for cross-border e-commerce bonded imports, marking a new historical high. Those imports valued at 20.3 billion yuan, an increase of 41.3 percent year-on-year. Both declaration handling numbers and import value ranked first among other customs in China, according to the Ningbo Customs. 

On Nov 11, the first day of the Double Eleven Shopping Festival, the number of declarations for cross-border e-commerce bonded imports handled by Ningbo Customs and value of imports ranked the first among other customs in China for the third consecutive year. 

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic put big pressure on Ningbo's foreign trade. Benefiting from Ningbo Customs' flexible policies and premium geographical location, Ningbo's bonded cross-border e-commerce business has continued to grow during the first five months of 2020.

From January to May, the customs handled 438.92 million cross-border e-commerce bonded imports declarations, up 18.33 percent from the same period in 2019. The total value of cargo reached 9.13 billion yuan, an increase of 38.91 percent year-on-year. For every four cross-border e-commerce bonded imports declarations in China, one was handled by Ningbo Customs, according to local officials. 

Supporting business resumption has become a key work of Ningbo Customs over the past months. 

"We surveyed 182 cross-border e-commerce businesses ranging from platform operators to warehouse and logistics service providers and concluded that most of them faced problems such as increasing production costs, slower logistics services and tight product supply," said an official from the Division of Free Trade Zone and Special Control Area of Ningbo Customs. 

The customs released a series of measures including allowing businesses to fax and email documents to apply for tax guarantee and pay tax to support business restoration. A new model which allows businesses to handle their cargo before making customs declaration helped many companies submit more accurate clearance requests. 

During the virus outbreak, companies can make reservations with Ningbo Customs so cargos can be cleared in the quickest manner once they arrive at the customs. 

"Our orders increased 30 percent year-on-year during the June 18 shopping festival," said Shi Haixia, a department head from Best Logistics Technology Co. 

Aiming to help companies better manage problems and unlock their potential, Ningbo Customs introduced 10 measures in 2020 to support cross-border e-commerce. 

In January, Ningbo launched a new service that allows domestic enterprises to export commodities to special areas first, and then export to overseas warehouses. The goods will be sent directly from overseas warehouses to overseas consumers. The model can help traditional exporters expand operations to enter the retailing sector, according to local officials. 

Looking ahead, Ningbo Customs will continue to support cross-border e-commerce with preferential policies and improving services, customs officials said.