The high-quality development of foreign trade is inseparable from the continuous improvement of trade facilitation. On April 21, it was learned from the Municipal Port Office and Ningbo Customs that Ningbo has launched a new round of cross-border trade facilitation reform and issued the "2026 Ningbo Port Measures to Continuously Deepen Cross-Border Trade Facilitation Reform."

These measures focus on four core areas: customs clearance supervision innovation, cultivation of new foreign trade business formats, guarantee of all port factors of production, and comprehensive enterprise services, totaling 24 specific provisions. This year's reform cycle has been extended by one month compared to previous years. Based on a comprehensive review and implementation of national policies, the reform innovatively incorporates multiple local optional actions.

Addressing the needs of innovative development, Ningbo's answer is to empower industrial innovation through regulatory innovation.

For example, targeting innovative, export-oriented specialty industries such as the "New Three" (new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products), integrated circuits, and recycled metals, Ningbo plans to introduce customized regulatory services. These include a "direct express lane for the New Three to go global," "differentiated conformity assessment + one policy per item" for the import of key production factors, differentiated inspection for recycled metals, and quality and capacity enhancement for bonded repairs. These measures aim to clear the bottlenecks hindering the customs clearance of new business formats and products.

Driven by digital reform, Ningbo will accelerate the construction of a digital foundation for smart ports, promote smart applications such as the "Yongzhi" heavy container inspection robot, AI-assisted document review, and the Smart Customs ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) system. It will also facilitate the application of new technologies like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and big data across all port scenarios, creating innovative models for smart supervision and intelligent services.

Focusing on the urgent needs and difficulties of enterprises, Ningbo will also comprehensively upgrade the international trade "Single Window," build a digital platform for centralized credit insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises, deepen cross-departmental joint incentives and cross-customs-district cultivation for AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) enterprises. Furthermore, it will optimize customs clearance for pharmaceutical imports, provide services for exchange rate hedging and foreign-related legal affairs, standardize port charges related to enterprises, and reduce institutional transaction costs.

Improving the business environment is a never-ending long-distance race. Since initiating cross-border trade facilitation reform in 2018, Ningbo has adhered to a problem-oriented, demand-oriented, and results-oriented approach, promoting a series of innovative reform measures to take effect. The port business environment construction in Ningbo is at the forefront nationally.

Last year, the total import and export value through Ningbo Port reached 2.7 trillion yuan, accounting for 5.88% of the national total—0.38 percentage points higher than the target set in the "14th Five-Year Plan." The port continues to lead in customs clearance efficiency, logistics costs are steadily decreasing, and enterprises' sense of benefit has significantly increased.

Officials from the Municipal Port Office and Ningbo Customs both stated that, in the next step, through regular coordination and collaborative promotion, they will strive for the authorization and implementation of a number of pilot projects, such as smart quarantine for international health ports. They aim to promptly resolve bottlenecks and difficulties in customs clearance, logistics, financing, and other areas, deeply integrating cross-border trade facilitation reform into the entire process of building a first-class innovation ecosystem and a first-class business environment.