On March 17, 2026, Liaoning Port issued new policies, which is a major benefit for foreign trade companies and international tourists.
In the future, customs clearance of key commodities imported and exported at Liaoning Port will be faster, international passenger transit will be smoother, and the operating costs of foreign trade companies will be lower.
Recently, Liaoning officially issued the “Several Measures of Liaoning Province to Optimize the Port Business Environment and Promote the “Three Improvements” of Port Customs Clearance Capabilities”. This policy was jointly formulated by the Provincial Department of Commerce in conjunction with Dalian Customs, Shenyang Customs, Liaoning Entry-Exit Border Inspection Station, Liaoning Maritime Safety Administration and major port and airport operating units.
This new policy focuses on the customs clearance demands of enterprises and passenger travel needs. Focusing on three major aspects: improving customs clearance facilitation for major import and export goods, improving customs clearance service experience for international passengers, and speeding up the construction of smart ports, it launches 14 key measures to effectively reduce institutional transaction costs, improve logistics efficiency, optimize service experience, and strive to bring convenience to foreign trade entities and international passengers.
For import and export companies, the new policy accurately responds to the customs clearance requirements for key commodities.
The new policy introduces customized convenience measures for major imported goods such as crude oil, iron ore, soybeans, and aquatic products, and major export categories such as steel, ships, clothing, automobiles, and spare parts.
For example, in the process of vehicle entry and exit, there were problems in the past that the vehicle could only be entered and exited through a car, which was expensive and had low traffic efficiency. Dalian Customs has pioneered the country’s first artificial intelligence high-speed camera VIN code (vehicle identification number) identification technology. It can achieve “second-level identification and AI actuarial calculation” of the vehicle VIN code of vehicles passing through customs. The vehicle’s entry and exit logistics center has achieved “second-level” card clearance.
Compared with the traditional cage car transportation mode, this measure reduces the company’s logistics costs by about 50%, and effectively helps cars go directly to the terminal after they are rolled off the assembly line.
Lithium batteries are one of the “three new items” in my country’s foreign trade exports. In recent years, automotive lithium batteries are becoming a new growth point for Liaoning’s foreign trade exports.
Lithium batteries are dangerous goods and there is no precedent for their packaging to be reused.
Dalian Customs focuses on the recycling demands of automotive lithium battery export enterprises and innovatively implements a new model for recycling export lithium battery packaging boxes. Enterprises can reuse plastic packaging boxes that have passed customs performance inspection to ship lithium batteries for export, significantly reducing packaging costs for enterprises. Currently, it has saved enterprises more than 160 million yuan in costs.
The new policy also provides effective solutions to the special problems of the imported aquatic products industry.
Previously, red fish meal produced by Russian fishing vessels processing red fish at sea was classified as dangerous goods because they could not provide proof of no self-heating properties.
However, the relevant berths in Dalian Port are not qualified for dangerous goods operations. As a result, Russian refrigerated ships carrying red fish meal have to choose far away and divert overseas to unload, causing a serious loss of frozen fish import business in Dalian Port.
Through repeated professional testing and research, Liaoning Maritime Safety Administration successfully solved this dilemma, allowing frozen red fish meal that has been tested to be non-self-heating to be managed as general cargo.
Since May 2024, this move has ensured the smooth berthing of 54 Russian refrigerated ships, driving the Dalian Port to import more than 200,000 tons of frozen fish products with a value of 600 million yuan.
The green channel opened by Dalian Customs for fresh and perishable commodities also helps imported aquatic products quickly enter the market.
For international tourists and inbound consumer groups, the new policy is also further improving the convenience of travel and consumption experience.
Shenyang Customs supports the opening of Northeast China’s first international flight route, and cooperates with the taxation and commerce departments to establish a rapid response mechanism for tax refund requests to improve passengers’ shopping experience.
Liaoning Entry-Exit Border Inspection Station has promoted Shenyang Taoxian Airport, Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport and Dalian Port to be included in the 240-hour transit visa exemption scope. Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport has become the first airport port in Northeast China to replicate and promote the convenient measure of “24-hour direct transit passengers are exempted from inspection procedures”.
Inbound and outbound passengers holding international connecting tickets within 24 hours and transiting through Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport to a third country or region can skip inspection procedures and directly transit without a visa, shortening the transit time by more than 30 minutes on average, achieving “seamless connection and immediate transfer”.
Data shows that these entry and exit policies have shown their effect and have laid the foundation for wider promotion in the future.
In the first two months of this year, more than 55,000 foreigners entered Liaoning ports, a year-on-year increase of 34.89%, of which more than 43,000 were visa-free, an increase of 77.58%, injecting new momentum into activating inbound consumption and international exchanges.
Yang Junsong, director of the Customs Clearance Coordination Office (Electronic Port Office) of the Provincial Department of Commerce, said that in the next step, the Liaoning Provincial Port Department will continue to promote the implementation of various measures to achieve effectiveness, strengthen coordination and effect evaluation, and further optimize the port business environment.
