GBA's trade with Central Asia rises

A freight train loaded with air conditioners, refrigerators, kitchen and other electrical appliances pulled out of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, and is headed to Uzbekistan, in a boost to China's economic and trade cooperation with Central Asian countries following the in-depth implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The train is expected to leave the mainland via Horgos Railway Port in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and reach Tashkent, the capital of the Central Asian nation, in 12 days after it completes the 6,700-kilometer journey, according to a statement released by Guangzhou Customs on Thursday.

As an important production base for advanced manufacturing industries, including electronic information and automotive machinery, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has seen steady growth in trade volume with Central Asian countries, as products made in the GBA have been favored by consumers from the Central Asian nations, Guangzhou Customs said.

Chen Shaofeng, director of Logistics Train Operation Division of Guangdong GW International Logistics Development Ltd, said the home appliances, automobiles and related electromechanical products manufactured in Guangdong province have strong competitiveness in Central Asia, with high export demand and a large single export volume.

"The China-Central Asia freight train service has now become an important channel to promote the circulation of goods and trade between GBA and the Central Asian countries," Chen said.

The China-Central Asia freight train service has been favored by both domestic and foreign customers due to its all-weather, stable, quick and efficient operations, he said.

To ensure the smooth operation of freight train services between GBA and the Central Asian nations, Guangzhou Customs, based on the manufacturing advantages of GBA and the market demand of the five Central Asian countries, has introduced convenient measures such as "online appointment clearance", "multimodal transportation transfer" and "fast clearance" of railways to fully leverage the advantages of efficient, convenient and safe railway transportation.

Xie Wanlin, director of the Railway Station Supervision Division of Guangzhou Customs, said Customs departments in Guangzhou have provided train services tailored to the needs of customers to actively support the normal operation of special trains of communication equipment, LCD TVs, microwave ovens, air conditioners and related products on the operation platforms, in order to help promote the smooth export of household appliances and other products Guangdong companies produce for the Central Asian market.

In response to the high demand for mechanical and electrical products exported by enterprises in the Customs area, Customs departments have established a green channel for precision equipment export inspection, providing convenient measures such as noninvasive and round-the-clock inspections to ensure immediate processing and priority clearance and continuously improve the efficiency of train transportation, she said.

"Now the average time is only 40 minutes for the cargoes of the China-Central Asia trains from declaration to being released," according to Xie.

In the first half of this year, exports of mechanical and electrical products Guangzhou railway station Customs departments supervised to the five Central Asian countries mainly included air conditioners, kitchen appliances and TV sets.

According to a statement from Guangzhou Customs, Customs departments will further promote and accelerate the construction of smart customs and the application of the achievements to further improve regulatory efficiency through technological means, consolidate the position of Guangzhou as a logistics and trade hub in GBA to serve and support the high-quality development of GBA, and promote the continuous deepening of economic and trade cooperation between GBA and Central Asia in the following months.

Customs statistics revealed Guangzhou Customs supervised a total of 130 million yuan worth of commodity exports through the China-Central Asia freight train services to the five Central Asian countries in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 61.4 percent.