The General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) today introduced the World Smart Customs Community Portal and the BRICS Customs Center of Excellence.
Previously, during his attendance at the “BRICS Plus” leaders’ dialogue, President Xi Jinping announced the establishment of a World Smart Customs Community Portal and a BRICS Customs Center of Excellence, welcoming active participation from all countries.
The World Smart Customs Community Portal will be developed based on the "the Smart Customs Project" jointly implemented by China Customs and the World Customs Organization (WCO), establishing an online community for global "Smart Customs" exchange and cooperation on the WCO official website. The platform will be constructed in three phases: Phase One, this year, a dedicated webpage for the "Smart Customs" project will be preliminarily launched on the WCO official website, establishing a global network for customs technology application and innovation; Phase Two, in the first half of 2025, leveraging the aforementioned network, an online community for exchanging "Smart Customs" development plans will be established; Phase Three, by the end of 2025, the online community’s functions will be further upgraded and refined, advocating "Smart Customs" cooperation among all WCO members.
The BRICS Customs Center of Excellence will be anchored at the BRICS Customs Training Center (Xiamen), highlighting the distinct features and advantages of "Smart Customs," aiming to develop three platforms: including a demonstration platform for advancing the "Smart Customs, Smart Borders and Smart Connectivity" cooperation and implementing the "Smart Customs Cooperation Partnership”; a demonstration platform for deepening capacity building and exchange cooperation among BRICS customs administrations; as well as an online demonstration platform (the BRICS "Smart Customs" Center of Excellence website) to facilitate digital collaboration.