First Plenary Meeting of APEC Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP1) Held in Guangzhou

From February 4 to 6, the first plenary meeting of the APEC Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) 2026 was convened in Guangzhou. As a key part of the series of events for the 2026 APEC China Year, the meeting closely followed the theme of "Building an Asia-Pacific Community for Common Prosperity," centered on the three priority areas of "Openness, Innovation, Cooperation," and conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on cooperation around key customs topics such as technology and innovation, smart customs development, and cross-border trade facilitation. Zhao Zenglian, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Customs, attended the plenary meeting and delivered a speech.

Zhao Zenglian pointed out that since its establishment in 1994, SCCP has always been the core "incubator" for promoting the innovation of customs procedures and technological progress, injecting strong momentum into building an interconnected, secure, and resilient Asia-Pacific supply chain. As an important gateway and bridge for opening up, Customs administrations are not only regulators of international trade but also protectors of regional security and prosperity, shouldering an important mission in advancing the construction of the Asia-Pacific Community.

Zhao Zenglian stated that China Customs is willing to work with customs authorities of all APEC economies to take this meeting as an opportunity to jointly practice true multilateralism and deepen inclusive development. Driven by digital and intelligent innovation and bridged by pragmatic cooperation, China Customs aims to jointly promote the security and facilitation of trade in the Asia-Pacific region. Zhao Zenglian put forward three initiatives: focusing on inclusiveness, further implementing the "Smart Customs" Partnership Program, deepening cooperation in various fields such as paperless trade, cross-border e-commerce, and green trade, and continuously yielding more benefits of opening up; focusing on stabilizing and smoothing the supply chain, strengthening institutional coordination and standard alignment, and actively promoting the "soft connectivity" of rules and standards; and highlighting digital and intelligent empowerment, accelerating digital transformation and intelligent upgrading, and improving the modern governance capacity of Customs.

During the meeting, through the live exhibition of Smart Customs and visits to demonstration sites, China Customs showcased advanced equipment and innovative solutions, visually presenting the effectiveness of technology-enabled supervision, which was highly praised by representatives from all parties. Subsequently, China Customs will compile outcome documents such as the "2026 APEC Smart Customs Case Repository," actively build "Smart Customs" partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region, and promote the sharing and application of innovative achievements.

According to Customs statistics, since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the total import and export volume between China and other APEC economies has reached 125.49 trillion yuan, an increase of 39.4% compared with the 13th Five-Year Plan period. The level of trade diversification has steadily improved, and the dividends of cooperative development have been continuously realized.

More than 130 representatives from customs authorities of 18 APEC economies, relevant international organizations, academia, and the business community attended the meeting.