The General Administration of Customs has come out with 10 measures to help in the resumption of work at export-oriented firms and stabilizing trade growth, amid the coronavirus outbreak in China. The measures are aimed at increasing the support for foreign trade enterprises and ease their problems. The following points should be concerned:

Increase support and alleviate business difficulties. Simplify the business registration and filing procedures. If the company registration information is changed, except for the company name that needs to submit an application for change online, other registration information does not need to be applied the change for the time being, and relevant procedures will be processed after the end of outbreak. Timely help enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to solve their problems in import and export. Guide enterprises to standardize management, reduce import and export declaration errors, and avoid procedural violations.

Promote the expansion of agricultural products and foods import. Further increase the number of agricultural products and foods-entry countries and registered enterprises, and increase the number of imported varieties. Accelerate the process of accessing agricultural products and foods, reduce the length of quarantine approval, and allow applications that meet the requirements to be submitted and approved at the same time. Open green channels for agricultural products and foods import at key ports, and implement 24-hour advance clearance; if there is a product to be on-site inspected, it can be prioritized for implementation without written application, and rapid release without any abnormalities is found; if the suspected pest and disease characteristics are founded, it needs to be sent to the laboratory for testing, and priority inspection will be arranged.

In addition, Customs will also support enterprises to further expand exports, and will utilize the internet to ensure the stable and efficient operation of the information system.