Hong Kong Customs and the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) have been committed to strengthening global supply chain security and promoting trade facilitation between the two places. Under the framework of Mainland-Hong Kong Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the two authorities on 29 November 2022 to further enhance AEO co-operation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The major aspects of co-operation under the MoU include mutual referral mechanism, prioritized processing of relevant AEO applications, joint publicity campaigns in the two places, as well as enhanced training and sharing for AEO experts from both sides.
The two authorities also met in Shenzhen on 24 May 2023 to discuss the implementation arrangements of the MoU. On the same day, Hong Kong Customs officers visited the “Shenzhen Customs AEO Advanced Certification Training Base” in Longgang to learn more about the support and training provided by the Mainland Customs to enterprises that have an interest in joining the AEO programme.
■The General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong Customs sign the AEO MoU in November 2022 through video-conferencing.
