In the current international trade environment, multiple measures are propelling China’s foreign trade sector to new heights, injecting strong momentum into stabilizing the fundamentals of foreign trade. On January 15th, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference, where the spokesperson clearly stated that multiple measures will be taken to strengthen efforts to stabilize foreign trade and comprehensively stabilize its fundamentals. The Ministry of Commerce first focuses on implementing policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade, providing precise assistance to enterprises, and stabilizing their confidence and expectations. Through strengthening situation analysis and in-depth research on enterprises, it continuously innovates specific measures to stabilize foreign trade. On the one hand, it helps enterprises consolidate traditional markets and actively expand into emerging markets. It increases support for enterprises participating in overseas exhibitions, holds a series of trade promotion activities, and effectively helps enterprises improve their market development capabilities. On the other hand, it accelerates the cultivation of new growth drivers, vigorously develops cross-border e-commerce and empowers industrial belts, and supports overseas warehouse enterprises in accelerating intelligent transformation. Simultaneously, it enhances the international competitiveness of green and low-carbon products, promotes the application of artificial intelligence in foreign trade, and improves the digitalization level of the entire trade chain. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce also mentioned the need to promote balanced development of imports and exports, establish the “Export to China” brand, select key countries for annual theme-based cooperation, hold no fewer than 100 import promotion activities, and build exchange and cooperation platforms to enable more high-quality products and services from various countries to enter China and better meet the people’s needs for a better life. It is worth mentioning that the cross-border logistics sector has also seen a significant upgrade. Driven by new regulations from the General Administration of Customs, on January 15th, many regions across the country simultaneously launched innovative businesses such as “TIR + Bonded” and “TIR + Cross-border E-commerce.” The TIR system is a cross-border freight customs clearance system established based on the United Nations Convention on International Road Transport, and currently has more than 70 contracting parties worldwide. Under this system, transport vehicles holding TIR certificates can complete customs formalities at both the point of origin and destination, and then proceed through various countries without repeated container inspections, achieving efficient cross-border passage. This innovative model marks the first time that bonded goods and cross-border e-commerce goods have been formally incorporated into the TIR transport system, achieving an innovative integration of international road transport with bonded policies and cross-border e-commerce regulatory models. For example, in Henan, “TIR + bonded” goods departed from Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone and arrived directly in Russia; in Kashgar, Xinjiang, two transport vehicles carrying daily necessities departed from the TIR assembly center and arrived in Pakistan and Uzbekistan in 2 and 5 days respectively; Wenzhou, Zhejiang, also simultaneously dispatched two batches of goods: “TIR + bonded” and “TIR + cross-border e-commerce.” The business manager of Wenzhou Juxin International Multimodal Transport Port Co., Ltd. stated that tax refunds can be applied for as soon as the goods enter the zone, approximately 10 days earlier than before, and the TIR model reduces transport time by about 65% compared to previous sea freight to Europe.
In addition, the General Administration of Customs issued an announcement on optimizing the implementation of the Convention on International Road Transport (TIR), including cross-border e-commerce goods and bonded goods, and clarifying declaration standards. Enterprises can handle customs clearance procedures through the dedicated module of the International Trade Single Window, effectively improving the efficiency of cross-border logistics. On January 15, customs offices in Hangzhou, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Shenzhen, Yinchuan, and Urumqi took the lead in launching pilot programs. Taking Qingdao as an example, a vehicle carrying over 9,000 pairs of various shoes departed from the Qingdao Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone after completing customs procedures under the TIR Convention, and was transported directly to Moscow, Russia, via the “TIR + Bonded” model in a “one-stop” manner. The Deputy Director of Qingdao Jiaodong Airport Customs explained that under the “TIR + Bonded” supervision model, companies can store goods in special customs supervision zones. Based on overseas orders and TIR vehicle plans, they can declare goods through an integrated entry and exit process, handling the entire process of leaving the zone, transportation, and export in a “one-stop” manner, directly reaching their overseas destinations. Imported goods can first enter the bonded warehouse of the comprehensive bonded zone, temporarily deferring import duties and import-related taxes, alleviating the financial pressure on companies. International road transport costs only 25% of air transport and is twice as fast as rail. Combined with the policy advantages of comprehensive bonded zones, this makes export shipments more flexible, tax refunds earlier, and allows imported goods to be temporarily stored in bonded areas nearby. Many cross-border e-commerce company leaders also stated that the “TIR + Bonded” model has allowed companies to truly feel the benefits of policy innovation. Currently, there are 272 relevant licensed companies in China, and in 2025, more than 3,800 international road transport transactions were supervised, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.1 times. More than 70 international road transport routes have been opened nationwide, covering multiple countries in Central Asia, West Asia, and Europe, effectively improving the facilitation of customs clearance for international road transport goods.
