The Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities of Zhuhai and Foshan have been designated as pilot cities for China’s 2026 cross-border trade facilitation campaign, the General Administration of Customs of China (GAC) announced in a statement last Wednesday.
Zhuhai and Foshan were among 20 cities added to the program, bringing the total number of pilot cities from 25 in 2025 to 45 this year.
In total, Guangdong has five cities taking part in the program, including pre-existing participants Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan.
Set to run for six months, the 2026 campaign will see the Chinese authorities introduce 29 measures to enhance the quality and efficiency of foreign trade in goods, services and sectors such as digital and green trade.
These measures are largely focused on spurring greater innovation in customs clearance supervision, improving the monitoring service for new forms of trade and boosting the efficient flow of cross-border logistics.
On top of this, the authorities are looking to further the development of smart ports, promote the alignment of regulations and offer better support services for businesses.
In the statement, a GAC representative underlined the importance of making cross-border trade convenient, pointing out that it was a “necessary requirement” for cooperation and the opening up of China, as well as unfettered domestic and global economic flow.
[See more: Shenzhen has a new court to deal with cross-border business cases]
The representative added that convenient cross-boundary trade was an “effective measure” to help businesses secure stable orders and expand their markets, even as the world faces instability.
As well, it reaffirmed China’s support for the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement and the multilateral trade system.
Other entrants to this year’s trade campaign include Changchun, Suzhou, Jinhua, Quanzhou, Nanchang, Yantai, Wuhan, Changshan, Nanning, Kunming and Xi’an.
Since 2018, departments affiliated with the GAC have launched specialised campaigns intended to facilitate cross-border trade. As of 2025, 144 relevant measures had been introduced by the various pilot cities, of which 110 have been promulgated nationwide.
Within the GBA, a number of initiatives have been introduced to allow goods to pass between the SARs and mainland cities seamlessly. For instance, the single e-lock scheme, which was first introduced in 2024, allows cargo trucks travelling between designated ports in Hong Kong, Macao, Guangdong and Fujian from having to undergo an additional round of customs inspection at the border through the use of e-locks and GPS technology.
Similarly, Macao is in the process of constructing an air cargo terminal in Hengqin, which is expected to be ready for operation by the first half of 2027. Once completed, it is set to bring Macao, Hengqin and the GBA closer together in areas such as logistics, technology and commerce.
