On 14 October, the State Council Information Office held a press briefing to introduce import and export performance for the first three quarters of 2026. Lyu Daliang, Spokesperson and Director-General of the Department of Statistical Analysis of the General Administration of Customs, stated that in the first three quarters of this year, the nine mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area recorded imports and exports worth RMB 8.42 trillion, representing a year-on-year increase of 24.7%. Their share of China’s total foreign trade reached 21.1%, up 1 percentage point from the same period last year. Specifically, imports and exports in the third quarter stood at RMB 3.13 trillion, crossing the RMB 3 trillion threshold for the first time with a year-on-year growth rate exceeding 30%.

In May this year, focusing on integrated development, the development of an innovation hub, and new business forms and models, the General Administration of Customs issued the Measures of the General Administration of Customs to Support the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Over the past five months and more, these measures have been rolled out sequentially and delivered initial results.

In terms of strengthening rule alignment and institutional connectivity. The reform of “batch inspection” for exported agricultural and food products has been promoted. Customs authorities have coordinated with regulatory bodies in Hong Kong and Macao to recognise remotely issued inspection and quarantine certificates, helping ensure safe and stable supply for the Greater Bay Area’s “market basket”. In the first three quarters, agricultural exports from the nine mainland Greater Bay Area cities to Hong Kong and Macao exceeded RMB 20 billion. The dedicated air-land express lane for fresh and live products has been optimised. Leveraging the air-bridge linkage between Hong Kong International Airport and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, fresh agricultural and food products can more easily enter the mainland market. The combined import volume of fresh and dried fruits and edible aquatic products via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge rose fivefold in the first three quarters.

For supporting scientific and technological and industrial innovation. Customs serves innovation demands with its regulatory capacity and has adopted innovative inspection control models. For goods such as vacuum-packed products unsuitable for unpacking at ports, inspection may be carried out at qualified off-port sites to reduce damage risks. So far, high-tech cargo valued at over RMB 14 billion has benefited from this arrangement. Together with relevant authorities, a joint supervision mechanism for special inbound and outbound biomedicine products has been established in Shenzhen, shifting from serial supervision to faster parallel supervision. Thirty-one enterprises and research institutions have joined the pilot programme. Imports and exports of high-tech products by the nine mainland Greater Bay Area cities increased by 41.4% in the first three quarters, accounting for 25.3% of the national total for such products.

Regarding fostering new business forms and models. Building on the core strengths of the “bonded +” model, Customs has vigorously expanded application scenarios for bonded functions in the Greater Bay Area. For major technical equipment such as aircraft imported by enterprises in comprehensive bonded zones for bonded finance leasing, which cannot physically enter the zones, off-site entrusted customs supervision is implemented. This solves the challenge of enjoying preferential policies without physical warehousing inside bonded zones. Under this scheme, 67 aircraft were imported in the first three quarters. Bonded maintenance services for automotive gearboxes, computing servers and components have been launched in comprehensive bonded zones. The value of import and export goods under bonded maintenance in the nine mainland Greater Bay Area cities reached RMB 45.33 billion in the first three quarters, rising by 24.9%.

Lyu Daliang noted that moving forward, Customs will continue to align with development needs of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, further implement the Measures and deliver more outcomes. It will support the development of a world-class bay area and world-class urban cluster brimming with vitality and international competitiveness.

Source: Greater Bay Area Voice