Customs using AI technology to keep up with e-commerce boom

According to the head of China's customs administration, the country's cross-border e-commerce trade has maintained a robust growth rate, and authorities are turning to technology to speed up customs clearance.

Ni Yuefeng, the head of the General Administration of Customs, interviewed by the media at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. [Photo:Xinhua]

Ni Yuefeng, the head of the General Administration of Customs, spoke to the media on Tuesday outside a session of the National People's Congress, which is currently holding its annual gathering in Beijing.

The country's leading customs official said that cross-border e-commerce imports and exports expanded by 80 percent in 2017, and a further 50 percent in 2018. On the Double Eleven Festival, a nationwide online shopping spree, more than 27 million cross-border e-commerce products passed through customs, with nearly 1,000 items being processed every second during the peak period.

International Container Terminal at Bonded Port in Qinzhou, Guangxi Province, seen here on October 31, 2018. [Photo:IC]

"The robust growth of China's booming cross-border e-commerce has posed challenges to customs supervision," said Ni. To meet the new challenges, the customs administration is using artificial intelligence technologies to screen packages so it can cope with the escalating demand.

Ni said the business environment for cross-border trade has greatly improved. According to the World Bank, China's business environment for international trade ranked 97th in the world in 2017 and rose to 65th place last year. China slashed the average customs clearance time by more than half in 2017, surpassing the government's goal of reducing it by one-third.