Against the headwinds from COVID-19 resurgences and external complexity, China's efforts are underway to stabilize and upgrade foreign trade, a key underpinning for the economy.
The latest data showed a feeble April growth of only 0.1 percent in the total exports and imports, indicating that the country's foreign trade firms are under strain.
To help foreign trade navigate the trough, a guideline was released by the country's cabinet earlier this week, specifying 13 targeted measures toward this end. It requires enhanced services for key foreign trade enterprises and unimpeded cargo logistics.
Apart from increasing fiscal and financial support for foreign trade enterprises, the country will also seek to bolster cross-border e-commerce, it says.
The fresh guideline, in particular, prioritizes ensuring stable production and circulation in foreign trade, saying that key components and equipment, as well as merchandise in foreign trade, must be transported smoothly.
"Compared with its previous moves, China this time placed more emphasis on steadying the industrial and supply chains in the short term," said Zhao Ping, a researcher with the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
"Unclogging the logistics is of paramount importance for foreign trade at present," Zhao said. She noted that the recent sporadic COVID-19 cases have weighed on the foreign trade supply chain, restraining production efficiency and profitability.
To address the challenges, customs nationwide have tailored region-specific measures to streamline procedures and fast-track freight clearance.
In the Huangpu customs district of south China's Guangdong, for instance, all administrative restrictions have been scrapped, with a green channel where farm produce and fresh foods enjoy faster access and inspection.
Thanks to such facilitation, it only takes 16 hours for a package of vegetables, fresh out of Guangdong farms, to arrive at a Hong Kong food market, said a Huangpu customs officer.