A customs conference takes place between China and member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. It was held in Harbin, in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, on June 14. [Photo/chinanews.com]

A key conference on the customs systems of China and the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, or the EAEU, was held in Harbin in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province on June 14.

The event had the theme of “trade safety and customs clearance convenience”.

The customs authorities of China and members of EAEU -- Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia -- reached consensuses on topics such as customs supervision reforms, simplifying cross-border cargo clearance procedures, building international logistics channels and cooperation in risk management.

The conference marked an upgrade in regional customs cooperation, from bilateral (China-Russia) to multilateral (China-Eurasian Economic Union memberships) models.

Officials said that statistics showed that the gross trade volume between China and the five members of the EAEU reached $134.82 billion in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 23.1 percent.

Wang Lingjun, deputy director of the General Administration of Customs of China, said at the meeting that construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and matchmaking with the EAEU were important parts of the Belt and Road Initiative. Wang added that improved cooperation in regional customs procedures was a key step to facilitating smoother trade.

In the wake of the conference, the next step will be for China Customs to focus on cross-border e-commerce, cross-border trade, China-Europe block trains, trade complexes and market procurement with the customs of the member countries of the EAEU, in a bid to promote interconnections among the countries.