China will expand its cross-border trade facilitation pilot to 45 cities in 2026, up from 25 in 2025, as part of a six-month campaign led by the General Administration of Customs (GAC). The programme brings together the GAC and 23 other central departments to test practical reforms across customs clearance, logistics and digital trade. Officials say the expansion aims to support enterprise competitiveness and stabilise trade flows amid a more uncertain global environment.
Expansion of pilot cities and scope
The GAC confirmed that 20 additional cities have been added to the pilot list for 2026. Newly included locations span multiple regions and development profiles, including Hohhot, Changchun, Suzhou, Jinhua, Quanzhou, Nanchang, Yantai, Wuhan, Changsha, Zhuhai, Nanning, Kunming and Xi’an. With these additions, the total number of pilot cities will reach 45.
The announcement was made at a national deployment meeting on 16 March 2026 by Sun Meijun, head of the GAC. The expansion reflects an effort to test reforms in a broader range of inland, coastal and border cities, allowing policies to be adapted to different trade structures and logistics conditions.
Focus on digital, green and services trade
The 2026 campaign will introduce a package of new measures aimed at upgrading goods trade, expanding services trade, and promoting digital and green trade models. Planned actions include innovations in customs supervision, optimised services for emerging forms of foreign trade, improved cross-border logistics efficiency and the development of smarter ports.
Authorities also plan to strengthen alignment with international trade rules and standards, while improving policy support for enterprises. These efforts sit alongside China’s broader engagement in regional economic cooperation, including areas of technology-enabled trade and regulation, as seen in Singapore–China collaboration on digital and innovation-led growth.
Supporting enterprises and trade resilience
According to the GAC, facilitating cross-border trade is central to expanding opening-up, strengthening international cooperation and ensuring smoother links between domestic and global markets. Officials note that streamlined procedures and more predictable logistics can help firms secure orders, enter new markets and manage costs more effectively.
The campaign is also positioned as a practical contribution to China’s implementation of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement and its support for the multilateral trading system.
Progress since 2018
Since 2018, the GAC has organised annual cross-border trade facilitation campaigns. By 2025, a total of 144 reform measures had been introduced, with 110 of them adopted nationwide after pilot testing. The 2026 expansion is intended to accelerate the translation of local innovations into national policy.
Further details on the 2026 campaign were published by the Chinese government and can be accessed via the official release.
