On January 15, 2026, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference. A spokesperson stated that the Ministry would take multiple measures to strengthen efforts to stabilize foreign trade and safeguard its fundamentals. The Ministry of Commerce emphasized the need to implement policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade, provide precise support to enterprises to maintain confidence and expectations, strengthen situation analysis and enterprise surveys, and innovate measures to stabilize foreign trade. On the one hand, it will help enterprises stabilize traditional markets and expand into emerging markets, increase support for enterprises participating in overseas exhibitions, hold a series of trade promotion activities, and help enterprises improve their market development capabilities. On the other hand, it will accelerate the cultivation of new growth drivers, vigorously develop cross-border e-commerce to empower industrial belts, support overseas warehouse enterprises to accelerate intelligent transformation, enhance the international competitiveness of green and low-carbon products, promote the application of artificial intelligence in foreign trade development, and improve the digitalization level of the entire trade chain. The spokesperson also mentioned promoting balanced import and export development, establishing the “Export to China” brand, selecting annual theme countries for key matchmaking, holding no fewer than 100 import promotion activities, and building exchange and matchmaking platforms to allow more high-quality products and services from various countries to enter China and meet the needs of the people for a better life.
In terms of cross-border logistics, on the 15th, driven by the new regulations of the General Administration of Customs, many places across the country simultaneously launched the innovative businesses of “TIR + Bonded” and “TIR + Cross-border E-commerce”, marking an important upgrade in my country’s cross-border logistics and building a new, efficient and convenient international logistics channel for foreign trade enterprises. The TIR system is a cross-border freight customs clearance system based on the United Nations Convention on International Road Transport, with more than 70 contracting parties worldwide. Under this system, transport vehicles holding TIR certificates can complete customs formalities at the place of origin and destination, and do not need to be repeatedly opened for inspection in various countries along the way, achieving efficient cross-border passage. The newly launched “TIR+Bonded” and “TIR+Cross-border E-commerce” models mark the first time that bonded goods and cross-border e-commerce goods have been formally incorporated into the TIR transport system, achieving an innovative integration of international road transport with bonded policies and cross-border e-commerce regulatory models. In Henan, “TIR+Bonded” goods departed from Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, heading directly to Russia; in Kashgar, Xinjiang, two transport vehicles loaded with daily necessities slowly departed from the TIR assembly center, destined for Pakistan and Uzbekistan in 2 and 5 days respectively; Wenzhou, Zhejiang, also simultaneously dispatched two batches of “TIR+Bonded” and “TIR+Cross-border E-commerce” goods. Xu Jianyong, business manager of Wenzhou Juxin International Multimodal Transport Port Co., Ltd., stated that tax refunds can be applied for as soon as goods enter the zone, approximately 10 days earlier than before. Previously, goods exported to Europe were mainly transported by sea, resulting in long transit times; the TIR model can reduce transit time by about 65%.
In addition, the General Administration of Customs previously issued an announcement on optimizing the implementation of the Convention on International Road Transport (TIR), including cross-border e-commerce goods and bonded goods, clarifying declaration standards, and allowing enterprises to handle customs clearance procedures through the dedicated module of the international trade “single window,” effectively improving the efficiency of cross-border logistics. On January 15, customs offices in Hangzhou, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Shenzhen, Yinchuan, and Urumqi took the lead in launching pilot programs.
On January 15, a vehicle carrying over 9,000 pairs of various shoes departed from the Qingdao Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone after completing customs procedures under the Convention on International Road Transport (TIR), transporting them directly to Moscow, Russia, via the “TIR + bonded” model in a “one-stop” manner.
Wang Zhiwei, Deputy Director of Qingdao Jiaodong Airport Customs, explained that under the “TIR + Bonded” supervision model, enterprises can store goods in special customs supervision zones. Based on overseas orders and TIR vehicle plans, they can declare through the “integrated entry and exit” process, handling the goods’ exit, transportation, and export in a “one-stop” manner, directly reaching their overseas destinations. Imported goods can first enter the comprehensive bonded zone for bonded warehousing, temporarily deferring import duties and import-related taxes, alleviating the financial pressure on enterprises. International road transport costs only 25% of air transport and is twice as fast as rail. Combined with the policy advantages of comprehensive bonded zones, this makes export shipments more flexible and tax refunds earlier, while allowing imported goods to be temporarily stored in bonded zones nearby. Zhang Quanwen, head of a cross-border e-commerce company, stated that the “TIR + Bonded” model not only achieves convenient consolidation and early tax refunds in comprehensive bonded zones but also enjoys the high efficiency and reliability of TIR transportation, allowing import and export enterprises to truly feel the benefits of policy innovation. Currently, there are 272 licensed companies in China, and in 2025, they supervised over 3,800 international road transport transactions, representing a 1.1-fold increase year-on-year. More than 70 international road transport routes have been opened nationwide, covering multiple countries in Central Asia, West Asia, and Europe, effectively improving the facilitation of customs clearance for international road transport goods.
