Business as usual for Shanghai customs despite phased lockdown

Shanghai Customs has taken special measures to ensure that customs clearance at the world's largest port for imports and exports will not be affected by the city's phased lockdown.

Shanghai has both the world's largest container port and the world's third largest international airport. Pudong New Area, which is home to Pudong International Airport, Yangshan port, Waigaoqiao port, and Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, is the most important player in the city's foreign trade. 

Pudong went into lockdown on Monday at 5am. The lockdown will be lifted on April 1 at 5 am.

Upon learning of the lockdown, Yangshan port customs carried out urgent inspections late into the night to ensure that a batch of aircraft spare parts could reach Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd, which needed to do a flight test. Yangshan customs accepted more than 370 import and export declaration documents on Monday.

That same day, Waigaoqiao port customs implemented special measures to allow a shipment of cotton products to be transported as scheduled. The Waigaoqiao port accepted 350 import and export declaration documents that day. Port officials noted that business volume was not affected.

A batch of 4,930 ventilator equipment was also granted clearance and released from the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone on Monday. As of Monday, the customs authority of the free trade zone had completed  inspections of 42 batches of goods.

The customs at Pudong International Airport was operating normally on the first day of Pudong's lockdown as well.