Zhongshan Customs, a subordinate of Gongbei Customs, unveiled its Senior AEO Coordinator Office on November 28. Representatives of 57 senior authorized economic operators within Zhongshan's jurisdiction participated in the activity.

As of October of this year, Zhongshan had 319 Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs). Among them, there are 57 senior authorized economic operators, whose import and export volume stood at $15.274 billion since the beginning of 2019, accounting for 40.83% of the total of nearly 9,000 foreign trade companies in Zhongshan.

Wu Lundong, director of the Enterprise Management and Inspection Department of Gongbei Customs, said that at present, the inspection rate of senior authorized economic operators is about 0.5%, while that of dishonest enterprises is close to 100%.

The Senior AEO Coordinator Office will provide one-to-one personalized policy guidance to senior AEOs and carry out free authorization training courses to help enterprises standardize internal management, solve difficult problems, and enhance their competitiveness in the international market.

So far, China's customs has realized AEO mutual recognition with 42 countries and regions including Singapore, South Korea, EU, Australia, and Japan. The inspection rate of goods for China's advanced AEOs in AEO mutual recognition countries has been reduced by more than 50% on average. Moreover, the customs clearance time has been shortened by more than 30% on average.