On February 15, Changsha Customs, Wuhan Customs, Nanchang Customs, and China Construction Bank Hunan Branch, Hubei Branch, and Jiangxi Branch signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the "Hunan-Hubei-Jiangxi Interconnection KEY" project to promote connectivity of information systems, data sharing, and mutual recognition of services. It marked that e-port services can be handled on a cross-provincial basis. 

A person in charge of the Changsha Customs Data Sub-center said that due to the restriction of the information system, foreign trade enterprises in Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces could only handle services related to e-port enterprises including registration, enterprise information change, and unlocking e-port IC card at the local customs service window or e-port service agencies in banks. This brings much inconvenience to cross-provincial foreign trade enterprises to handle such services.  

The "Hunan-Hubei-Jiangxi Interconnection KEY" project is based on USBKey, a safe medium of e-port, and is a service platform developed by the Changsha Customs, Wuhan Customs, Nanchang Customs, and China Construction Bank Hunan Branch, Hubei Branch, and Jiangxi Branch to benefit people and enterprises. The implementation of the project will facilitate the handling of cross-provincial e-port and foreign trade services. Foreign trade companies in the three provinces need not to commute between registration place and handling place when dealing with such services. This will help save more than 50% of time and 40% of costs for firms. More than 26,000 foreign trade enterprises of Hunan Province will benefit from the project.

The signing of the MoU is a pioneering step taken by the customs authorities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River to facilitate cross-provincial customs clearance for foreign trade enterprises, and also a practical measure by the Changsha Customs, Wuhan Customs, Nanchang Customs to implement a framework agreement on the coordinated work mechanism of customs authorities in Hubei, Jiangxi, and Hunan to promote high-level opening and high-quality development of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. On February 15, Shangli County Sanxin Import and Export Co., Ltd. of Jiangxi Province handled the first cross-provincial e-port business at the service window of the Changsha Customs Data Sub-center. 

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn