China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) has unveiled an ambitious plan to transform 43 of the country’s busiest land, sea and air ports into fully fledged “smart ports” during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). Speaking at a State Council press briefing in Beijing on 22 July, Customs Commissioner Sun Meijun said the programme will combine regulatory reform with artificial-intelligence, big-data analytics and new inspection equipment to create a ‘zero-touch’ border experience for both passengers and cargo. Under the blueprint, 90 per cent of Chinese ports will be equipped with intelligent scanners, CT machines, biometric gates and mobile inspection robots by 2030. For travellers, that means facial-recognition and iris ID checks that clear immigration in seconds, while driverless vehicles and smart yard management will speed up cargo movements. Officials confirmed that the 43 pilot ports include Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong, Shenzhen’s new Huanggang land terminal and the cruise hubs of Shanghai and Sanya. The modernisation drive responds to a 16.9 per cent year-on-year rise in China’s trade in the first half of 2026 and record passenger volumes that now exceed two million border crossings per day. Deputy Commissioner Zhang Baofeng said new “follow-the-supply-chain” clearance models will let pre-vetted companies file a single digital declaration valid nationwide, while international exhibitors will benefit from streamlined “exhibit-to-commodity” rules that allow on-the-spot sales at trade fairs. For business travellers, the most immediate change will be faster, paper-free processing: outbound Chinese passport holders should see queues capped at 30 minutes even at peak times, while foreign visitors can expect one-click VAT-refund processing thanks to fully digital tax-rebate kiosks that went live on 1 July. The GAC also pledged to expand “co-operative inspection, one-time release” pilots with Hong Kong & Macao and to introduce risk-based spot checks—meaning most passengers will simply walk through the green channel. Analysts say the move could save multinational firms millions in demurrage fees and make China’s ports among the world’s fastest. Corporates should map their supply chains against the 43 pilot locations and consider applying for China’s Advanced Certified Enterprise (AEO) status to maximise the new facilitation measures. Travellers, meanwhile, should download the “China Customs” app, which will push real-time lane-opening notifications and allow pre-declaration of duty-exempt items.
Source: Beijing Daily
