From November 1 to 2, Premier Li Keqiang attended the 18th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held in Tashkent and paid an official visit to Uzbekistan. Minister Ni Yuefeng attended relevant events and signed multiple documents under the witness of Premier Li.

On November 1, Premier Li Keqiang officially visited Uzbekistan. Under the witness of Premier Li and Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Minister Ni Yuefeng signed with Ergashev, Head of the State Plant Quarantine Inspection of Uzbekistan, the Protocol between the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China and the State Administration for Plant Inspection and Quarantine under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Phytosanitary Requirements for Pomegranate Imports from Uzbekistan to the People's Republic of China.(hereinafter?referred?to  as the Protocol on pomegranate import from Uzbekistan to China) and the Protocol between the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China and the State Administration for Plant Inspection and Quarantine under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Requirements for the Inspection of Transit a Third Country Imports and Exports Fruits.(hereinafter?referred to as the Protocol on fruit transit via a third country between China and Uzbekistan).

Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, relations between China and Uzbekistan have entered into a golden period of rapid development. Uzbekistan is an important fruit producing area in Central Asia, with many varieties and good quality. With the joint efforts of the Customs, inspection and quarantine departments of the two countries, the trade of agricultural products between China and Uzbekistan has developed rapidly in recent years, and Uzbekistan cherry and melon have successively accessed Chinese market. According to the statistics of China Customs, in the first three quarters of 2019, the total value of bilateral trade between China and Uzbekistan was 5.29 billion US dollars, an increase of 18.2% over the same period last year (the same below), and the import of agricultural products from Uzbekistan was 210 million US dollars, an increase of 44.1%, of which fresh and dried fruits and nuts were 19.403 million US dollars, an increase of 1.4 times.

The signing of the Protocol on Pomegranate Import from Uzbekistan to China is of positive significance for enriching the varieties of fruit supply in China's market and promoting the development of China-Uzbekistan agricultural products trade. Land transportation mode was supplemented to Protocol on fruit transit via a third country between China and Uzbekistan on the basis of existing air transportation mode, which will greatly reduce the transportation cost of fruit import and export and effectively promote the fruit trade between China and Uzbekistan. This is a pragmatic move taken by China Customs to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on opening wider to the outside world and to align China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Uzbekistan’s development strategy.

On Nov. 2, during the 18th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the SCO, Minister Ni Yuefeng and other Customs representatives from participating member countries signed the Memorandum of the Customs of the SCO Member States on the Integration Cooperation of the Transit Transport Systems, which clearly expressed the cooperative intention of all parties to establish a unified transit transport system. The establishment of a unified transit transport system within the scope of SCO member countries is conducive to strengthening economic and trade exchanges among the member countries, unblocking China's logistics corridors to other member countries and even the whole Europe, simplifying the transit procedures of highway transit cargo and speeding up the clearance of transit goods, thus creating a safe and convenient business environment for Chinese enterprises to go global. It is of great significance for promoting regional interconnection and the construction of the BRI.

Since the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Customs organizations of all members have continuously deepened cooperation and contributed a lot to regional trade facilitation. Multiple agreements were signed under the witness of Heads of Member States, including the:

Memorandum of the Customs Administrations of the SCO Member States on the Development of Mutual Assistance in the Application of Risk Management Systems;
Protocol On Cooperation Among The SCO Member States In The Field Of Customs Enforcement;
Memorandum Of Cooperation Among The Customs Authorities Of The SCO Member States On The Exchange Of Information On Cross-border Transport Of Ozone Depleting Substances;
Rules Of The Customs Of The SCO Member States On The Use Of The Moscow Regional Intelligence Liaison Centre Case Database Law Enforcement Platform Channel Round-the-clock Liaison Stations For Information Mutual Assistance And Memorandum Of Understanding Between Authorized Competent Authorities Of The SCO Member States On Technical Cooperation In The Prevention Of Cross-border Animal Epidemics;

The documents above help promote the SCO's regional customs-clearance security facilitation and economic trade development.