Macau Customs Service Director-General Alex Vong Iao Lek discussed various issues including the central government’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative with General Administration of Customs Minister Yu Guangzhou on Thursday during the two authorities’ annual meeting.
The meeting took place at the local customs’ headquarters.
President Xi Jinping’s initiative consists of two international trade connections – the land-based ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ and oceangoing ‘Maritime Silk Road’.
The local customs released a statement about the meeting afterwards.
During the meeting, Yu said the two customs services could “push forward” the development of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative and strengthen their co-operation, while Vong said the two sides would study coming up with new a customs “clearance and supervision model”, the statement says.
During the meeting the two sides also drew up their collaboration plan up until 2018, which, according to the statement, integrates their co-operation into “the overall development of the country’s comprehensively deepening reform”.
On Wednesday, the two customs chiefs signed a memorandum of co-operation to simplify procedures for tax-free exports. They also inked an agreement to strengthen co-operation in preventing and fighting smuggling.
It was the two customs authorities’ first meeting since the central government last December granted Macau jurisdiction over 80 square kilometres of its coastal waters.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
