Technology improves the customs clearance capabilities of northern ports

In northern my country, Inner Mongolia, which has a border line of more than 4,200 kilometers, has a total of 20 modern open ports. In recent years, the development of Inner Mongolia's ports has been rapid and fruitful. As of October 26 this year, the total freight volume of Inner Mongolia's land ports in 2024 has successfully exceeded 100 million tons, reaching this milestone 43 days ahead of the same period last year.

Erenhot, located in the China-Mongolia comprehensive hub, is the only entry and exit port of the "Central Channel" of the China-Europe Express. Since 2013, more than 17,000 China-Europe Express trains have passed through. At present, the number of China-Europe Express lines has increased from the original two to 71, and the types of goods include light textiles, electronic appliances, mechanical parts, etc., among which high-value-added goods such as automobiles, machinery, mobile phones and computers account for more than 40%.

The rapid development of China-Europe Express is due to the digitalization, intelligence and automation of port operations and supervision in Inner Mongolia. Since the beginning of this year, Inner Mongolia has actively promoted the intelligentization of port facilities and equipment, the intensiveness of information systems, the digitalization of operation management, and the facilitation of comprehensive services.

At the Ganqimaodu Port in Inner Mongolia, AGV driverless vehicles are loaded with coal from Mongolia, waiting to enter the country in an orderly manner. The port is an important energy channel between China and Mongolia. After each driverless vehicle completes automatic inspection at the customs smart card gate, it only takes 30 seconds to lift the barrier and release it, realizing "countdown" customs clearance.

This is China's first cross-border unmanned transportation channel, with four lanes in both directions and a total length of 6.19 kilometers. An unmanned cross-border transport vehicle can carry two 35-ton standard containers, and its work efficiency is equivalent to 6.4 times that of an ordinary double-trailer vehicle running all year round.

In August this year, the Inner Mongolia Finance Department allocated 800 million yuan of special funds for port development in 2024, mainly to support the construction of key ports in the autonomous region, enhance the level of open platforms and the construction of hinterland parks, so as to improve the customs clearance capacity of ports. A series of measures have optimized the business environment of ports and helped the transformation and upgrading of "passing economy" to "landing economy".

In the border trade zone of Erlianhot, the landing processing industry is booming. Trucks loaded with washed cashmere from Mongolia drove into the processing enterprises in the border trade zone in an orderly manner. The cashmere will be made into exquisite cashmere products.

According to statistics from Erlian Customs, as of November 6 this year, the transaction volume of border trade between residents at the Erenhot Port has reached 502 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62.1%. The processed commodities at the Erenhot Port are mainly concentrated in three categories: washed uncombed cashmere, flax seeds, and frozen bone-in beef. They have been operating normally, and the trading countries have expanded to Mongolia, Russia, and Belarus, further promoting the transformation and development of the "channel economy" to the "industrial economy".