A pilot project involving Chinese and European customs was launched yesterday to develop smart and secure trade lanes to speed up checking processes, counter the threat of terrorism and combat piracy and counterfeiting.
Speaking at a launch ceremony yesterday, Shi Fusheng, deputy director of Shenzhen Customs, said: "Closer cooperation between Chinese and European customs will help tighten the management of imported solid waste."
The project, which will run for nine to 12 months, will focus on the transport of containers by sea between Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Felixstowe in England and Shenzhen, he said.
Under the plan, the three countries will try to align security standards, upgrade technology, exchange more information and accelerate the release of goods at customs.
The project will be rolled out to other ports in Europe and China if the pilot is successful, he said.
"The scheme will provide us with advance information on the solid waste imported from Europe, which will help us better manage consignments and eliminate any negative impact," Shi said.
Ten Chinese companies and 10 European ones, each of which has a good record with both Chinese and European customs, will take part in the pilot project.
Two of the Chinese firms are paper manufacturers that frequently import paper waste from Europe as a raw material, Yu Lixin, deputy director of the customs clearance and control division of Shenzhen customs, said.
"We will try to develop a better way to monitor the import of solid waste with the help of the two pilot companies," Yu said.
Companies in the United States and Europe have long exported their solid waste to China, but often the consignments contain harmful pollutants that are not allowed to enter China, Shi said.
But demand for this kind of waste product is on the rise, he said.
In 2005, China imported about 17 million tons of paper waste (four-and-a-half times the 2000 figure), or about 43 percent of the world total, he said.
"The situation requires customs to know the exact composition of the waste to stop the inflow of harmful and illegal trash. This new project will help us a lot," Shi said.
Using data analysis, we can establish the level of risk associated with a product before it leaves its port of origin, he said.
Source: China Daily
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