Chinese authorities announced yesterday a package of measures to speed up customs procedures at airports for particularly important goods, such as high-tech equipment, raw materials, specific medicines, medical devices and biological products. This initiative, jointly presented by the General Administration of Customs, the National Immigration Administration and the Civil Aviation Administration of China, aims to boost the development of international air transport and facilitate trade and personnel exchanges.

In the press release, the authorities called on eligible airports to establish "green channels" to speed up customs checks, outlining as many as 16 operational measures aimed at improving efficiency in cargo handling, passenger processing, public services, reducing logistics costs and enhancing the capacity of key airports.

Further insights from Chinese institutional sources highlight how these provisions will also play a key role in supporting cross-border e-commerce. In particular, eligible goods will be collected in customs zones for export, while more flexible policies will be adopted to facilitate visa issuance and connection management for foreign visitors.

Airlines are also encouraged to expand the use of dedicated cargo aircraft and increase the number of international routes for the transport of goods, thus helping to increase global air cargo capacity. These measures, which contrast with the marked crackdown on tariffs that is characterizing the second US presidency of Trump (since yesterday also against Europe), represent an important step forward in making China an even more competitive hub in the sector of international air transport and logistics.