When the war drum of “618” beats in the clouds, in the customs warehouse of Shanghai Pudong Airport, the beep of the code scanner and the rhythm of the sorting belt interweave into a silent concerto – every “beep” means that a cross-border package is accelerating towards its owner.
In the past May, an exciting footnote was written here: the value of import and export cross-border e-commerce in a single month was 8.592 billion yuan, a new historical peak, like a cluster of sparks, igniting the first heat wave of this summer’s consumer season.
In the first five months of this year, the overall number of cross-border e-commerce declarations at Shanghai Pudong Airport Port reached 345 million, with a goods value of 36.415 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.8% and 10.6% respectively.
Among them, the single month of May was particularly eye-catching – 81.37 million votes and 8.592 billion yuan in transcripts, a year-on-year increase of 68.4% and 37.4%, both reaching monthly peaks since the launch.
Behind these numbers is the minute-by-second relay of massive packages from shelves to conveyor belts, and then to global or domestic consumers.
In order to cope with the peak of the “618” promotion, Shanghai Pudong International Airport Customs pressed the “acceleration button” early.
The customs-enterprise communication platform is online around the clock, and the business assault team is stationed on the front line to create exclusive files for the leading domestic e-commerce platforms one by one, and customize the “one promotion, one policy” customs clearance plan according to the promotion rhythm.
Lin Han, the customs officer of China Eastern Express, said frankly that after registering the promotional price with the customs in advance, relying on a combination of “advance declaration, arrival inspection and release”, “list verification and tax collection” and 7×24 hours appointment for customs clearance, the products for the big sale can be “inspected and released upon arrival”, with a full sense of timeliness.
From the perspective of exported goods, plastic products, simulated jewelry, clothing, shoes, bags and household items are still the “basic market”, but a new trend is emerging – mechanical keyboards, astronomical telescopes, wigs and other categories with higher unit prices are quietly increasing in volume, reflecting the trajectory of “Made in China” extending towards quality and personalization.
On the import side, the warmth of consumption upgrades is even more evident: personal care cosmetics, fashion clothing and affordable luxury goods through direct purchase channels remain popular, while imported goods for leisure and entertainment such as game consoles, camping equipment, and sports equipment have grown significantly. It seems that you can hear the heartbeat of people eager to embrace the outdoors and get together.
These data are not just a prism – they not only reflect the resilient evolution of the export industry, but also reflect the gentle migration of domestic consumption from “practical” to “pleasant”.
The role of customs is changing from “gatekeeper” to “intelligent brain”.
Pudong Airport Customs vigorously promotes digital source management, and uses BI technology to build a “one-screen overview” and “drill linkage” data ecosystem, allowing foreign trade monitoring to precede cargo flow, allowing platform data to “warm up” in advance, and allowing companies to do less or even no errands afterwards.
“The voyage of cross-border e-commerce is no longer just the displacement of goods, but an in-depth dialogue between Chinese manufacturing, Chinese brands and even Chinese service concepts and the global market.” said Wang Huihong, deputy director of customs at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
In this dialogue, the Customs used digital and intelligent customs clearance as a pen to continue to write more flexible and warmer footnotes for “buying globally and selling globally”.
