Foreign participants at Canton Fair to enjoy one-stop customs clearance

Foreign exhibitors and business representatives attending the upcoming 137th China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as Canton Fair, can now go through customs clearance procedures for their exhibits and related exhibition business via a single website, according to a senior officer from Guangzhou Customs on Friday.

Tan Wu, deputy director of Guangzhou Customs, said Guangzhou Customs had introduced 12 specific facilitation measures to help ensure smooth and efficient customs clearance of personnel, exhibits, and related materials entering and exiting the Canton Fair, which will open on Tuesday.

Guangzhou Customs has also provided a one-stop service to help foreign Canton Fair participants go through customs procedures to facilitate offshore exhibitors' participation in the fair and implement the tax incentives for imported exhibits, said Tan.

He urged related foreign companies and personnel to understand relevant customs clearance policies and regulations before the exhibition to ensure their successful participation in the fair.

Tan promised to promote the construction of smart customs further and strengthen regulatory innovation and digital upgrading to offer even better services to fair participants.

Guangzhou Customs will also establish special information desks to provide on-site service during the fair.

Deng Qiang, deputy director of Canton Fair Customs administered by Guangzhou Customs, said as of Friday, 71 batches of exhibits valued at more than 3.67 million yuan ($516,900) have been shipped to the southern metropolis by sea and air.

The exhibits have mainly come from Portugal, Egypt, Poland, Bangladesh and Pakistan, he said.

Canton Fair, which is held in Guangzhou, known as a "millennium commercial capital", twice a year in spring and fall, will take place in three stages between April 15 and May 5. The fair, which was first held in 1957, is the largest trade event in the country.

In addition to export business for domestic enterprises, the fair will include an import exhibition hall covering floor space of more than 10,000 square meters in this spring event.

And 730 companies from 50 nations and regions around the world will demonstrate their technologies and latest products to seek expansion of cooperation with their Chinese counterparts and increase their presence in the vast Chinese market.