Vice Minister HU Wei attends launching ceremony for China TIR operations
On May 18, China’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) and General Administration of Customs (GACC) jointly held a launching ceremony for China-Russia international road transport trial and China TIR (i.e. Transports Internationaux Routiers) operations in Dalian, Liaoning Province.
As the “Belt and Road” construction is gradually deepening, the formal implementation of the United Nations TIR Convention in China is a milestone for the country to facilitate transit operations and deepen economic and trade cooperation with neighboring countries. The China TIR launching ceremony, co-held by MOT and GACC, marked a new stage of China in facilitating both customs clearance and international road transport.
The TIR system, based on the United Nations TIR Convention, serves as a global customs-clearance facilitator for international cross-border road transportation of goods. With 69 years of development so far, it is designed to ensure convenience and security in international trade and road transport by streamlining customs procedures and enhancing clearance efficiency.
At present, there are 73 Contracting Parties to the TIR Convention, most of which are located along the “Silk Road Economic Belt”. China acceded to this Convention on July 5, 2016 as the 70th Contracting Party and the Convention entered into force for China on January 5, 2017.
Currently, China’s pilot TIR gateways designated by GACC include Horgos in Xinjiang (bordering Kazakhstan), Irkeshtam in Xinjiang (bordering Kyrgyzstan), Erenhot in Inner Mongolia (bordering Mongolia), Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia (bordering Russia), Suifenhe Port in Heilongjiang (also bordering Russia) and Dalian in Liaoning ( the trade gateway towards the Pacific). From now on, all the six ports are open to TIR operations.
With the activation of the TIR Convention, the gradual increase of TIR accessible ports, and the continuous expansion of the scope of TIR operators, China will further streamline the “Belt and Road” international logistics corridor for better interconnection.
The attendees to the ceremony included Mr. LIU Xiaoming, Vice Minister of MOT, Mr. HU Wei, Vice Minister of GACC, Mr. Dvorinje Aleksei Victorovich, Head of the Department of Highways of the Russian Federation, Mr. Umberto de Pretto, Secretary-General of the International Road Transport Union (IRU), Mr. WANG Mingyu, Vice Governor of Liaoning Province, and Mr. TAN Chengxu, Mayor of Dalian City.