In recent years, China's export policies have continuously evolved towards facilitation, digitalization, and intelligence. From simplifying declaration procedures and shortening customs clearance time to restructuring supervision models, a series of reforms have directly addressed the pain points of traditional exports, such as "multiple links, multiple documents, and frequent trips", bringing significant opportunities for global freight forwarding companies to improve efficiency and optimize costs. This article will systematically sort out the core framework of China's export facilitation policies and the practical implementation of new customs clearance models, combining authoritative data and operational points to provide in-depth guidance for freight forwarding enterprises to seize policy dividends and optimize their business layout.

I. What is the Top-Level Design and Core Framework of China's Export Facilitation Policies?

China's export facilitation policies, with the core goals of "reducing costs, improving efficiency, and optimizing services", are led by the General Administration of Customs and promoted through multi-departmental collaboration, forming a policy system of "special actions + national promotion + continuous iteration", which is the most practically valuable component of the China's export policies system.

1. Cross-Border Trade Facilitation Special Action: The Core Starting Point for Policy Implementation

Since 2025, the General Administration of Customs, together with more than 20 departments, has launched the Cross-Border Trade Facilitation Special Action, which was further upgraded in 2026 to a national reform involving 24 departments and covering 45 pilot cities, becoming the core carrier for the implementation of China's export policies.

The 2025 Special Action launched 29 pilot measures. After practical verification, 25 mature measures were replicated and promoted nationwide in January 2026, covering five major directions: smooth logistics, new format supervision, intelligent supervision, and enterprise-benefiting services.

In March 2026, a new round of the Special Action was launched, expanding the number of pilot cities from 25 to 45, adding 16 central and western cities including Wuhan, Xi'an, and Changsha, and extending policy dividends from coastal areas to inland regions. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs in March 2026, after the implementation of the Special Action, the enterprise satisfaction rate reached 98%, and the overall efficiency of export customs clearance increased by more than 60%.

2. Core Policy Dimensions: From "Document Reduction" to "Full-Chain Optimization"

The facilitation reform of China's export policies has evolved from single-link optimization to full-chain restructuring, focusing on four core dimensions to accurately solve the key pain points in the operations of freight forwarding enterprises.

Simplified Declaration Procedures: Streamline declaration data items, merge duplicate documents, and fully implement paperless declaration, completely abandoning the traditional model of "piles of paper materials" and reducing the manual entry and document circulation costs of freight forwarders.

Innovative Customs Clearance Models: Launch new models such as "advance declaration", "two-step declaration", and "two-stage access" to realize "parallel customs clearance and logistics", greatly shortening the stay time of goods at ports and improving the utilization rate of freight forwarders' shipping space.

Upgraded Intelligent Supervision: Rely on big data and artificial intelligence to realize "intelligent document review and intelligent inspection", making "instant release" of low-risk goods the norm and reducing the manual intervention costs and inspection risks of freight forwarders.

Deepened Inter-Departmental Collaboration: Break down data barriers between customs, taxation, foreign exchange, logistics and other departments, realize "one declaration, multi-party sharing", eliminate repeated reviews across departments, and reduce the multi-window operation processes of freight forwarders.

Freight forwarders need to note: The facilitation reform of China's export policies is not a "one-size-fits-all" approach but a "targeted relaxation under risk control". Freight forwarding enterprises need to simultaneously improve their compliance capabilities and standardize declaration procedures and data entry to fully enjoy policy dividends and avoid problems such as customs clearance delays and cargo detention caused by irregular operations.

II. What are the Core Measures of China's Export Facilitation Policies?

1. Declaration End: From "Multi-Window Declaration" to "Full Coverage of Single Window"

The International Trade "Single Window" is a landmark achievement of the facilitation reform of China's export policies, realizing "one platform, one submission, and full-process completion", which has completely changed the cumbersome status of freight forwarding enterprises switching between multiple systems for declaration.

As of March 2026, the Single Window has covered more than 95% of port business scenarios, connected with 81 units, and integrated full-process services such as customs declaration, inspection, tax refund, foreign exchange, and logistics, eliminating the need for freight forwarding enterprises to repeatedly enter data in multiple systems.

In March 2026, the Single Window cargo declaration system added a "one-click printing" function, which can batch output documents such as customs declarations, entrustment agreements, and electronic bills of lading. The operation efficiency has increased by 70% compared with before, greatly saving the time for freight forwarders to sort out documents.

Since January 2026, the customs and taxation departments have realized the electronic data networking verification of the "Certificate of Tax Repaid/Not Repaid for Exported Goods". Enterprises no longer need to submit paper certificates, and freight forwarders do not need to assist customers in handling paper documents, thus realizing the seamless connection between customs clearance and tax refund links.

In terms of local characteristic expansion, Guangxi, Zhejiang and other places have launched local versions of the Single Window, adding declaration modules for new formats such as cross-border e-commerce and market procurement. Enterprises in central and western regions can enjoy facilitation services nearby, and freight forwarders can rely on local systems to expand their inland customer business.

2. Customs Clearance Models: From "Serial Approval" to "Parallel Efficient Customs Clearance"

China's export policies have innovatively launched a variety of customs clearance models, completely breaking the traditional serial process of "declaration - review - inspection - release", realizing "parallel customs clearance and logistics", and adapting to the time-sensitive needs of different goods of freight forwarding enterprises.

(1) Advance Declaration: Goods Released Upon Arrival to Improve Timeliness

Enterprises can submit declaration data in advance before the goods arrive at the port. The customs completes the review in advance, and the goods are "released upon arrival" after arriving at the port, without waiting for the review result for a long time. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs in January 2026, the proportion of advance declaration for export goods in 2025 reached 65%, and the target for 2026 is to increase to more than 70%. Freight forwarders can guide customers to prefer this model to shorten the stay time of goods at ports.

(2) Two-Step Declaration: First Pick-Up, Then Supplementary Declaration, Adapted to Time-Sensitive Goods

Enterprises first submit a "summary declaration" (core declaration data) to complete the pick-up of goods, and then supplement the "complete declaration" within the specified time, which greatly shortens the stay time of goods at ports, especially suitable for time-sensitive goods such as fresh food and precision instruments. Freight forwarders can focus on recommending this model to time-sensitive customers to improve their customer experience.

(3) Two-Stage Access and Instant Declaration & Release: Precise Classification to Improve Efficiency

The "two-stage access" model for imported goods has been extended to the export field. Low-risk goods can be "released first and inspected later", while high-risk goods are subject to targeted inspection, reducing the overall inspection rate by 20% and minimizing the time delay caused by inspection for freight forwarders.

Special channels have been set up for high-tech products and perishable goods, implementing "instant declaration, instant inspection, and instant release", and the customs clearance time has been shortened to less than 6 hours. Freight forwarders can pre-connect with special channel resources for such goods to ensure the timeliness of the goods.

3. Supervision and Services: From "Manual Supervision" to "Intelligent Precision Supervision"

China's export policies have realized the innovation of supervision models relying on digital technology, strengthening risk prevention and control while improving efficiency, and providing a more stable and predictable customs clearance environment for freight forwarding enterprises.

In terms of intelligent document review and inspection, the coverage rate of "intelligent image review" at major national ports has reached more than 95%. AI automatically identifies problems such as abnormal declaration data and incorrect commodity classification, and the manual intervention rate has dropped to less than 10%. The inspection rate for AEO advanced certified enterprises is only 0.5%, realizing "zero-intervention" customs clearance. Freight forwarders can assist high-quality customers in applying for AEO certification to enjoy customs clearance facilitation.

In terms of electronic tax guarantee, tariff guarantee insurance and electronic guarantees have been fully promoted. Enterprises no longer need to pay cash deposits, and the capital occupation cost has been reduced by more than 80%. Freight forwarders can assist customers in handling electronic guarantees to ease their capital pressure and improve customer stickiness.

In terms of export tax refund facilitation, in January 2026, the State Taxation Administration issued new regulations, implementing "one-form handling" for export tax refund filing and allowing "first change, then supplementary declaration" for filing changes. The tax refund processing time has been shortened from an average of 10 working days to 3 working days. Freight forwarders can simultaneously provide tax refund consulting services for customers to optimize the full-chain service experience.

4. Logistics and New Formats: From "Traditional Transportation" to "Multimodal Transport Integration"

China's export policies have extended facilitation to the logistics link, breaking down barriers in sea, land and air multimodal transport, supporting the development of new foreign trade formats, and providing policy support for freight forwarding enterprises to expand their business tracks.

In terms of the "single document system" for multimodal transport, since January 2026, the pilot implementation of "one document to the end" has been carried out for sea-rail intermodal transport and water-water intermodal transport. Enterprises can complete the full-process customs clearance by submitting one application form through the Single Window without repeated declaration. According to data released by China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. in February 2026, the logistics efficiency of China-Europe Railway Express and the New Western Land-Sea Corridor has increased by 30%. Freight forwarders can focus on deploying multimodal transport business to reduce the operation cost of cross-transport modes.

In terms of cross-border e-commerce facilitation, the policies of "tax refund upon departure and accounting after sales" have been implemented, simplifying the cross-border e-commerce export declaration process. Returned goods can be "quickly entered into the zone and processed tax-free". According to ITC Trade Map data in March 2026, China's cross-border e-commerce exports increased by 19.5% year-on-year in 2025. Freight forwarders can expand their cross-border e-commerce logistics business to seize the growth opportunities of new formats.

In terms of green trade support, priority is given to providing customs clearance facilitation for green products such as new energy and environmental protection equipment, simplifying the air transport requirements for live goods such as lithium batteries, and facilitating the export of green products. According to UNCTAD data in January 2026, China's green product exports increased by 13.5% year-on-year in 2025. Freight forwarders can target the layout of green logistics services to build differentiated competitiveness.

Recommended practice: Freight forwarding enterprises should give priority to helping customers apply for AEO certification, and at the same time proficiently master models such as "advance declaration" and "two-step declaration", matching the optimal customs clearance plan for different types of goods (time-sensitive, low-risk, green products), maximizing the use of the facilitation dividends of China's export policies, and improving their own business competitiveness.

III. What is the Practical Implementation and Effectiveness of China's New Customs Clearance Models?

1. Pilot Effects in Key Regions: Full Coverage from Coastal to Inland Areas

(1) Coastal Ports: Efficiency Benchmarks Leading Reform

Major coastal ports such as Shanghai, Ningbo, and Shenzhen took the lead in realizing full-function coverage of the "Single Window". The automatic sealing time at container checkpoints was reduced from minutes to 45 seconds, and the manual sealing time was shortened by 75%. According to data released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange in March 2026, the export customs clearance efficiency of Shenzhen Port increased by another 15% compared with 2025, making it a benchmark for global port customs clearance efficiency. Freight forwarders can rely on the advantages of coastal ports to optimize the layout of international routes.

(2) Central and Western Regions: Policy Extension and Potential Release

In the first quarter of 2026, the total import and export value of foreign trade in central and western regions reached 2.21 trillion yuan, an increase of 20.2% year-on-year, far exceeding the national average growth rate of 15% (data from the General Administration of Customs in April 2026). The core driving force is the extension of facilitation policies to inland areas. The export customs clearance time of pilot cities such as Wuhan and Xi'an has been shortened by more than 50% compared with before the reform. Inland enterprises no longer need to travel to coastal ports to handle procedures. Freight forwarders can pre-deploy inland outlets to connect with the needs of local foreign trade enterprises and tap new business growth points.

(3) New Format Agglomeration Areas: Precise Empowerment to Improve Quality and Efficiency

After the launch of Yiwu's new generation of large customs clearance platform, the compliance processing efficiency of cross-border e-commerce has increased by 40%, and the rights protection cost has decreased by 50%, making it an "efficiency benchmark" for global small commodity exports. According to data from Yiwu Customs in March 2026, Yiwu's small commodity exports increased by 18.3% year-on-year. Freight forwarders can focus on new format agglomeration areas, provide targeted services such as compliance declaration and logistics support, and improve business concentration.

2. Enterprise Perception: Real Feedback on Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement

According to a questionnaire survey by the General Administration of Customs in January 2026, 98% of foreign trade enterprises are satisfied with the facilitation policies. The core sense of gain focuses on three dimensions: time, documents, and funds, which directly benefit the operations and customer services of freight forwarding enterprises.

In terms of time cost, the average export customs clearance time has been shortened from 6.3 hours in 2020 to 2.4 hours in 2025. Time-sensitive goods can achieve "declaration and release on the same day". Freight forwarders can reduce customer complaints caused by customs clearance delays and improve their service reputation.

In terms of document cost, after the full implementation of paperless declaration, the average annual paper document cost of enterprises has been reduced by 50,000 to 80,000 yuan, the number of declaration data items has been streamlined by 20%, and the error rate of manual entry has been reduced by 60%. Freight forwarders can save a lot of labor costs for document sorting and entry, and improve operational efficiency.

In terms of capital pressure, the electronic tax guarantee and accelerated tax refund processing have reduced the average annual capital occupation cost of enterprises by more than 30%, benefiting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) particularly significantly. Freight forwarders can take advantage of this policy to expand their group of SME customers and expand business scale.

Common misunderstanding: Some freight forwarding enterprises believe that "facilitation = relaxed supervision", ignoring the accuracy and compliance of declaration data, which results in problems such as incorrect commodity classification and inconsistent document information. These problems lead to targeted inspection due to abnormal data, which even extends customs clearance time and increases operational costs. The facilitation of China's export policies is "efficient service under precise supervision", and compliance is the premise of enjoying dividends. Freight forwarding enterprises need to strengthen compliance awareness and standardize operational processes.

IV. How Can Global Freight Forwarding Companies Seize the Dividends of China's Export Facilitation Policies?

1. Operational Process Optimization: An Operation System Adapted to Facilitation Policies

Upgrade Declaration Systems: Connect to the API interface of the International Trade "Single Window" to realize one-click synchronization of data such as customs declaration, inspection, and tax refund, reduce manual repeated entry, improve declaration efficiency and accuracy, and lower the declaration error rate.

Flexible Combination of Models: According to the type of goods (time-sensitive/ordinary goods), time requirements, and customer credit rating, flexibly combine models such as "advance declaration + two-step declaration" and "instant declaration & release" to customize the optimal customs clearance plan for customers and improve customer satisfaction.

Digital Document Management: Establish an electronic document database to realize the electronic storage and call of documents such as customs declarations, commercial invoices, packing lists, and entrustment agreements. Cooperate with the customs' "cloud issuance" and "electronic certificates" to completely bid farewell to paper document circulation and save the time and cost of document delivery.

2. Customer Service Upgrade: From "Transport Agent" to "Policy Consultant"

Policy Interpretation Services: Set up a professional policy interpretation team to provide customers with interpretations of the facilitation measures of China's export policies, assist customers in applying for AEO certification, handling electronic guarantees, and enjoying policy dividends such as export tax refunds, and create differentiated service advantages.

Compliance Risk Prevention and Control: Establish an export compliance review mechanism to conduct advance inspections of risk points such as declaration data, commodity classification, and qualification documents, assist customers in standardizing declaration procedures, and avoid problems such as customs clearance delays and fines caused by non-compliance, ensuring the smooth customs clearance of customers' goods.

Full-Chain Value-Added Services: Integrate links such as logistics, customs clearance, tax refund, and foreign exchange settlement to provide customers with "one-stop" export solutions. Especially for SMEs, provide value-added services such as policy consultation, financing connection, and document agency to improve customer stickiness.

3. Resource Layout Adjustment: Seize Market Opportunities from Policy Extension

Inland Market Expansion: With the extension of facilitation policies to central and western regions, cities such as Wuhan, Xi'an, and Changsha have become new export hubs. Freight forwarding enterprises should pre-deploy inland outlets to connect with the needs of local foreign trade enterprises and expand their inland logistics and customs clearance business.

Multimodal Transport Capacity Building: Strengthen cooperation with railway, port, aviation and other enterprises, improve the operational capacity of multimodal transport such as sea-rail intermodal transport and air-land intermodal transport, adapt to the new "single document system" model, reduce the operation cost of cross-transport modes, and improve logistics efficiency.

Digital Capacity Improvement: Introduce digital tools such as intelligent customs declaration, cargo tracking, and compliance review to realize the visualization of customs clearance processes and real-time monitoring of logistics status, improve service efficiency and customer experience, and build the core competitiveness of digital freight forwarders.

4. Risk Response Strategies: Balancing Facilitation and Compliance

Establish a Policy Tracking Mechanism: Arrange special personnel to track the adjustment of China's export policies in real time, especially changes in policies such as export licenses, commodity supervision, and tax refund policies, and update operational processes in a timely manner to ensure that business operations comply with the latest policy requirements.

Strengthen Staff Training: Regularly organize staff to learn facilitation policies and new customs clearance models, invite customs experts to conduct special training, improve staff's professional capabilities and compliance awareness, and avoid business risks caused by operational errors.

Customer Classification Management: Implement differentiated services according to customer credit rating and cargo risk level, strengthen declaration review for high-risk customers, and provide "green channel" services for AEO certified enterprises to optimize resource allocation and reduce business risks.

V. Future Trends of China's Export Facilitation Policies and Layout Directions for Freight Forwarders

1. Policy Trends: Continuous Deepening of Digitalization, Greenization, and Integration

Combined with the current iteration direction of China's export policies and the global trade development trend, the future facilitation policies will focus on three directions, bringing new development opportunities and challenges for freight forwarding enterprises.

In terms of full digital popularization, by the end of 2026, Version 4.0 of the Single Window will be launched, realizing data exchange with the "Single Window" of surrounding countries and gradually eliminating cross-border data barriers. The coverage rate of intelligent document review and intelligent inspection will reach 100%, and "second-level customs clearance" will become the norm. Freight forwarding enterprises need to accelerate digital transformation to adapt to the policy development trend.

In terms of increased green trade facilitation, with the advancement of the global "dual carbon" goal, China's export policies will further increase support for green products and green logistics. Green customs clearance and low-carbon transportation will become the industry standard. Freight forwarding enterprises need to pre-deploy green logistics business to seize market opportunities.

In terms of strengthened cross-regional collaboration, under the framework of the "Belt and Road" and RCEP, export facilitation policies will be deeply integrated with international rules, and the scope of cross-border trade supervision mutual recognition and data sharing will continue to expand. Freight forwarding enterprises can rely on policy advantages to expand their international cooperation networks and improve their global service capabilities.

2. Layout Directions for Freight Forwarders: Pre-Employment to Seize Opportunities

Deepen Digital Services: Accelerate their own digital transformation, build an integrated platform for intelligent customs declaration, compliance review, and cargo tracking, realize full-process digitalization of business, become a benchmark for digital freight forwarders, and improve core competitiveness.

Focus on Green Logistics: Deploy businesses such as new energy transportation, low-carbon packaging, and green customs clearance, establish cooperation with green transportation enterprises and environmental protection institutions, meet the export needs of green products, and build differentiated competitiveness.

Expand Emerging Markets: Rely on facilitation policies to increase the layout of emerging markets such as countries along the "Belt and Road" and RCEP member states, optimize global routes and networks, expand international customer resources, and increase global market share.

VI. Conclusion

The facilitation reform of China's export policies is a core measure for China to build a trading power and optimize the business environment. From simplifying declaration to innovating models, from coastal pilots to national coverage, it has completely reshaped China's export customs clearance ecology, bringing unprecedented efficiency improvements and development opportunities for global freight forwarding companies. For freight forwarding enterprises, only by deeply understanding and accurately grasping the core connotation and operational points of China's export policies, optimizing operational processes, upgrading service capabilities, and adjusting resource layout, can they seize opportunities in the transformation and achieve synchronous development with the high-quality development of China's foreign trade. In the future, with the continuous optimization of China's export policies, the level of customs clearance facilitation will continue to improve, and the cooperation between global freight forwarders and China's foreign trade will usher in a broader space.