At the invitation of the Chinese Minister of Customs, Mr. Yu Guangzhou, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya visited Beijing, China for bilateral meetings with Minister Guangzhou and Vice Minister Sun Yibiao, during which a wide range of topics of mutual interest were discussed.
Minister Yu expressed his appreciation for the work that the WCO was engaged in under the leadership of its Secretary General and pledged its continued support for the Organization. In this context, Minister Yu suggested that the WCO focus more on enforcement-related international operations, sharing Member practices, promoting Members' acceptance and implementing WCO instruments such as the Revised Kyoto Convention and the SAFE Framework of Standards, and supporting the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation through the tailor-made assistance provided through the Mercator Programme.
Secretary General Mikuriya fully agreed with Mr. Yu’s proposal and explained that the WCO's priorities with regards to enforcement had shifted; the emphasis was no longer solely on seizures, a more holistic approach had been adopted which focused on the post-seizure environment with increased cooperation between source and destination countries. He expressed appreciation for the initiatives that China had undertaken with regard to Operation Demeter, which focused on hazardous waste, and Skynet which focused on drugs in small consignments. He also underlined the importance of cooperation with China - as the world’s largest trading nation - in combating illicit trade such as wildlife crime and intellectual property infringement. Minister Yu expressed support for the WCO’s orientation. Secretary General Mikuriya also strongly encouraged China to increase its efforts to share its knowledge of best practices and also that it continue to implement WCO standards to advance Customs research on best practices. He also expressed gratitude to China for its financial contribution via the WCO Customs Cooperation Fund which focused on delivering tailor-made assistance for implementing WCO standards and the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Minister Yu pledged that China would contribute further resources - both financial and human - to the WCO. They also agreed on areas which China Customs and the WCO could explore together with the help of increased financial assistance from China.
Secretary General Mikuriya shared his appreciation for the excellent facilities on display at Shanghai Customs College, which he had visited the previous day to deliver a special lecture to students. The lecture gave rise to a lively discussion with students from the Customs College actively participating and asking questions. He praised China Customs for their focus on human resource development as the basis for the future Customs Administration, as evidenced by the active participation of the students in his lecture. He also praised the significant contribution made by Shanghai Customs College to international cooperation by hosting the WCO Regional Training Center (RTC).
Secretary General Mikuriya also availed of the opportunity to visit Mr. Yu Ping, the Vice President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), a Ministry-level governmental trade promotion agency. He also met Mr. Yu Jianlong, the Secretary General of the China Chamber of International Commerce and other business representatives to promote Customs-Business partnerships.