Customs is responsible for guarding the country's borders and promoting development. How does China's foreign trade perform under the still severe external situation? What new conveniences does intelligent customs clearance bring to the popularity of "China Travel"? What role will customs play in building a new system of higher-level open economy? At the "Promoting High Quality Development" series of themed press conferences held by the State Council Information Office on the 30th, relevant officials from the General Administration of Customs responded to relevant hot topics. When it comes to the performance of foreign trade imports and exports, Zhao Zenglian, Deputy Director General of the General Administration of Customs, said that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the "cake" of China's foreign trade has become larger and the gold content of high-quality development has been greater, achieving greater, better, and stronger leapfrog development. In terms of quantity, in 2023, China's total import and export value of foreign trade will increase by over 17 trillion yuan compared to 2012, with an average annual growth of 1.6 trillion yuan; The number of foreign trade enterprises has nearly doubled compared to 2012; The total volume of goods trade has ranked first in the world for seven consecutive years; It has become a major trading partner for over 150 countries and regions. Structurally speaking, as foreign trade shifts from "quality" to "novelty", China's exports of high-tech products and independent brand products will increase by 6% and 9.3% year-on-year in 2023; The source of imports covers over 200 countries and regions worldwide; Cross border e-commerce imports and exports have increased by 1.2 times compared to 2018. Nowadays, 4 out of every 10 cars exported by China are electric vehicles, 7 out of every 10 rail locomotives are electric locomotives, and nearly 90% of exported batteries are lithium batteries. In the process of accelerating the green and low-carbon transformation and development, some arguments are hyping up the "overcapacity" of China's new energy industry. This is actually a false proposition, which is neither realistic nor in line with the laws of market economy development Zhao Zenglian said that taking electric vehicles as an example, according to the International Energy Agency's calculations, the global sales of electric vehicles will reach around 45 million by 2030, which is equivalent to three times the global sales in 2023 and five times China's production. China's new energy products are not only abundant, but also enrich the global green supply and contribute to the global response to climate change. Zhao Zenglian stated that the practice of more than 40 years of reform and opening up has proved that the development of foreign trade is not achieved through unilateral protection, but through opening up to win development and cooperation to achieve win-win results. 'Small courtyards with high walls' will only lead to self isolation, while openness and sharing are the only way to prosperity and development,' he said. Intelligent customs clearance is more convenient, and many people like "very city". Recently, with the continuous expansion of China's visa free "circle of friends" and the resumption of international flights, more and more foreign friends are coming to China for tourism. In addition to marveling at the beautiful scenery and delicious food, they also praised the smart customs clearance at the port as "very urban". The convenient customs clearance experience of "silky" and "instant" cannot be separated from the construction of smart customs. Lin Shaobin, the head of the Comprehensive Business Department of the General Administration of Customs, stated that building a smart customs is an important lever for further promoting customs reform. For example, in order to maximize the convenience of cross-border movement of people and goods, we are promoting 'smart travel inspection', applying new equipment such as integrated intelligent channels, early machine inspection, and collaborative robots, so that passengers can feel the convenience of 'seamless customs clearance', "he said. At the same time, the customs are also using the "intelligent drawing review" technology in the machine inspection and testing operations to accurately identify risks such as discrepancies in import and export documents and hidden goods; Implement "intelligent non-invasive monitoring" to ensure that imported and exported goods pass through the ship during loading, unloading, or transportation, and are inspected immediately upon passing; Lin Shaobin stated that the goal of a smart customs is to achieve "seamless customs clearance, intelligent supervision, no disturbance, and omnipresence" by remotely connecting with the customs, allowing enterprises to complete inspection operations without leaving their homes. With the "intelligence" of a smart customs, the goal is to serve the construction of a strong country. As the largest country in goods trade, China's customs face challenges such as multiple trade forms, high regulatory requirements, diversified risks, and high security pressures, as it seeks momentum from reform and vitality from innovation. To solve problems, we must seek motivation from reform and vitality from innovation. Zhao Zenglian stated that the reform has continuously empowered and increased the efficiency of customs supervision and clearance, from paper-based customs declaration to paperless customs clearance, from the "three mutual" clearance to national integrated customs clearance, from two enforcement and two procedures of customs and inspection and quarantine to one declaration, one inspection, and one release of customs in the new era. The reform has basically achieved the reform goal of "being able to control, release, and pass quickly", and the sense of gain and security of enterprises and the public has been continuously enhanced. Lv Daliang, Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs, stated that the current external environment is increasingly complex, severe, and uncertain, with high geopolitical risks. Some countries are implementing unilateralism and protectionism, which are gradually causing interference in the global supply chain. Shipping congestion and rising freight rates caused by the Red Sea crisis have further increased the cost pressure on enterprises. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made deployment requirements in areas such as national security, opening up to the outside world, and the rule of law system, among which many reform tasks are directly related to customs business. Zhao Zenglian stated that the General Administration of Customs has preliminarily studied and formed a framework for implementation, and has designed 59 measures focusing on four key tasks: further improving the customs' mechanism for safeguarding national security, optimizing the customs' mechanism for promoting open development, improving customs regulations and systems, and improving the customs' mechanism for implementing the comprehensive strict governance of the Party. Specifically, the customs will further support the construction of a new highland of institutional openness, continue to promote policy innovation and regulatory reform in the comprehensive bonded zone, optimize the innovation mechanism of the customs supervision system in the free trade pilot zone, establish a customs supervision model that is suitable for the development needs of new quality productivity, create a favorable institutional environment for the development of new business models, and support the standardized development of new formats and models such as cross-border e-commerce, overseas warehouses, market procurement, and bonded maintenance... "Next, we will also clarify the task book, timetable, priority sequence, refine the implementation subjects and responsibilities of various customs reforms, and fully fulfill the responsibilities and missions of guarding the country's borders and promoting development," Zhao Zenglian said. (New Society)