Guangdong Customs announced at the weekend that it has reached a reciprocity agreement with its counterparts in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions concerning inspections of imported goods.

Imports that have passed customs inspections in Hong Kong and Macao will not have to go through customs in Guangdong Province to enter the mainland and vice versa, said Sun Songpu, deputy commissioner-general of the General Administration of Customs (GAC). Sun was speaking at a press conference in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong.

The program will start in the first half of this year.

The simplified customs clearance procedures are expected to strengthen trade and economic ties between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. Further streamlining is targeted for the future.

Timothy H. M. Tong, commissioner of Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, said, "It will offer an even quicker channel for Hong Kong products to enter the vast Guangdong and mainland market, benefiting three parties in the future."

Last week, Guangdong Customs stopped inspecting products from the Pan-Pearl River Delta provinces and regions if they have passed the local customs inspection and are exported via Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong and Macao.

"That means export products from the Pan-Pearl River Delta are free of customs inspections in the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, an international aviation hub in the southern Chinese region, and other exit and entry ports in Guangdong if they have passed customs procedures at other checkpoints in the Pan-River Delta region," Sun said.

Sun is concurrently director-general of the GAC's Guangdong branch.

Guangdong Customs will also open a new "green channel" for live domestic animals and fresh vegetables from the region so they reach Hong Kong and Macao more quickly.

The Pan-Pearl River Delta region -- comprising Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, plus Hong Kong and Macao -- is linked by advanced railway, highway and inland waterway networks. A computer network will connect the 16 customs departments in the region.

Covering one-fifth of the China's total area and home to one-third of its population, the region plays an important role in the country's economic development.

(China Daily February 28, 2005)