China eases cross-border freight curbs at land ports to boost trade amid zero-Covid policy exit
- China customs said on Monday that it will promote the ‘orderly reopening’ of its land border crossings and ensure ‘smooth customs clearance’ at ports
- Beijing has insisted on some practices for the last three years, although foreign health experts did not agree they were required
Multiple Chinese land ports have loosened coronavirus-related restrictions on cross-border freight transport after Beijing’s fresh vows for an orderly reopening of its land border crossings.
Erenhot, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border and an important gateway for Europe-bound freight trains, removed all the curbs on cross-border rail operations this week, an Erenhot Customs official told the Post on Friday.
“All pandemic-related restrictions at the railway freight port have been cancelled, previously only containers can be shipped, now cargo in bulk are also allowed,” the official said.
Previously, the restrictive measures were imposed on the types of import and export goods, means of packaging, transport, loading, unloading and lifting.
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The port in China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region serves 63 China-Europe freight-train routes, connecting over 60 overseas destinations across more than 10 countries.