Guangzhou sees record amount of foreign trade

Guangzhou's Nansha district has emerged as a major foreign trade hub, helping the southern Chinese city push its import and export volume to a record high in 2025, customs officials say.

Nansha Port, located at the mouth of the Pearl River, has become China's largest entry point for imported cherries after customs authorities simplified procedures and introduced smart clearance systems, according to Che Chenghui, a senior officer from Guangzhou Customs.

During the new cherry harvest season in the Southern Hemisphere in December, one out of every two cherries imported into China entered the mainland through Nansha port, Che said at a news conference on Friday.

In December alone, more than 52,000 metric tons of cherries were imported to the mainland via Nansha port, up year-on-year 28.4 percent.

Guangzhou Customs has developed a tailor-made supervision model for imported fresh goods, offering 24-hour appointment-based customs clearance and implementing "inspection upon vessel arrival" to facilitate trade, he said.

"Cherries arriving at the port can now reach dining tables in as fast as two hours, allowing consumers to savor the world's freshest delicacies in no time," he said.

The customs clearance facilitation measures have led to a surge in cherry shipments, making prices more accessible, he said.

At Nansha port and related foreign trade ports, a dazzling array of seasonal products from around the world can be found, including cherries from Chile, cashews from Vietnam, salmon from Norway and lobsters from New Zealand.

Meanwhile efficient customs operations have also made Nansha port a major import and export port for vehicles, electronic products, garment, bags and related luxury products in the previous year.

Last year, Nansha district's foreign trade volume came to 295.99 billion yuan ($42.28 billion), up year-on-year 13.2 percent, with exports hitting a record high to grow year-on-year 30.5 percent.

Nansha's positive trade performance has helped Guangzhou reached a foreign trade volume scale of more than 1.2 trillion yuan, reaching a growth rate of 10.4 percent and hitting a record high in history, said Huang Bin, deputy director of Guangzhou Customs.

Huang said Guangzhou Customs would continue to introduce more facilitation measures to serve and boost Guangzhou's foreign trade industry in the following months.

As a core city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou, known as a "millennium commercial capital", has been a window of China's foreign trade.

Nansha port has developed a global logistics network, with its international shipping routes connecting to more than 120 countries and regions.