On June 10, under the witness of Chinese President Xi Jinping and heads of other Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, Minister Ni Yuefeng and Customs heads from other SCO member states jointly signed cooperation instruments such as the Memorandum on Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and Mutual Assistance Procedures among Customs Administrations of the SCO, and the Regulation on 24-hour Intelligence Liaison Assistance by the CEN of the Rilo/Moscow among Customs Administrations of the SCO.

The ODS Memorandum will be helpful for all SCO member Customs to mutually exchange of regulatory information, share best practices and experiences in Customs control, and better exercise the control over ODS import and export, thus safeguarding the eco-environments and national security of the SCO member states. The Rilo CEN Liaison Assistance Regulation is designed to establish the procedures for around-the-clock liaison offices to undertake information cooperation and use the WCO Moscow RILO Customs enforcement communication online platform to discover and deter any criminal and administrative violations under the jurisdiction of the SCO member Customs. China Customs has played an important role in pushing the negotiation and signing of the both instruments.

In recent years, China Customs has been deeply engaged in the SCO cooperation on trade and customs affairs, facilitating all the parties to conclude 6 pieces of Customs cooperation instruments on the issues of mutual assistance in administrative affairs, control over energy resources, cooperation in law enforcement, IPR protection, risk management, and technical training for Customs officers. Besides, China Customs, as an active participant in the SCO Customs Cooperation Working Group to research and discuss cooperation issues, effectively implements all signed cooperation instruments and pushes the negotiation and signing of other cooperation instruments concerning follow-up controls and paperless clearance.

Under the framework of the SCO Customs Cooperation Working Group, China Customs is actively advocating “mutual exchange of information, mutual recognition of controls and mutual assistance of enforcement” among all of the member Customs, thus making great contributions to maintaining the vitality of the Working Group and safeguarding the regional trade security and facilitation.