Gree Electric Appliances of Zhuhai is among 107 enterprises certified as Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) under the jurisdiction of Gongbei Customs. They are given facilitated clearance in trade with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On July 22, the General Administration of Customs of the PRC signed an agreement with the UAE Federal Customs Authority regarding mutual recognition of China's Enterprise Credit Management Program and the Emirates' AEO Program.

AEO is involved in the international movement of goods by methods approved by or on behalf of a national customs administration as complying with World Customs Organization or equivalent supply chain security standards.

Under AEO mutual recognition, the two customs administrations conduct risk evaluation on commodities from each other's AEO enterprises. On offer are less inspection and supervision, prioritized physical inspection for commodities, appointment of an outreach officer, and priority in clearance after recovery of interrupted international trade. These advantages greatly cut down enterprises' port, insurance, and logistics costs and enhance competitiveness.

Customs officers [Photo/nanfangplus]

Gree Electric Appliances has the most commercial intercourse with UAE among enterprises in the jurisdiction of Gongbei Customs. The mutual recognition allows it to enjoy customs facilitation in China, and the same for UAE customers upon filling in Gree's AEO commodity code on an import-export application, according to Yi Juanhui, Gree's customs affairs manager.

The UAE is a significant trade partner of China in the Middle East under the Belt & Road Initiative and was the first country in the region to realize AEO mutual recognition with China. In the first half of this year, 562 enterprises in the jurisdiction of Gongbei Customs traded with the UAE, recording an import-export value of 3.44 billion yuan ($487 million).