The Guangdong Provincial Government Information Office held a press conference Tuesday, highlighting the missions of Guangzhou Border Inspection from 2019 to 2024. The spokesperson detailed their efforts in facilitating passenger entry and exit, creating a top-notch port business environment, and more.

Jin Weicheng, Deputy Director-General of the Guangzhou General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, reported extensive collaboration with customs and other port departments, which has helped the clearance of over 40 million travelers, along with over 330,000 flights and 330,000 vessels since 2019.

Jin said that Guangzhou's border inspection department has been fully committed to facilitating customs clearance. ",The gradual implementation of visa-free policies since last December has increased boarder entries. We have promptly disseminated policy interpretations and provided clearance guidance, facilitating border procedures for over 120,000 foreigners who were eligible for visa-free entry, within which over 60% for tourism and over 20% for business activities," Jin stated.

He added that they have been providing a multi-channel entry and exit consultation service for passengers, especially through the establishment of the 12367 hotline, which offers round-the-clock multilingual online services. Since its launch, the hotline has received over 130,000 calls.

"We have developed a temporary entry permit issuance system to facilitate foreigners from 54 countries eligible for Guangdong Province's 144-hour visa-free transit policy and entry through Baiyun International Airport," Jin said. "For passengers transiting Baiyun Airport with connecting flights within 24 hours, a temporary entry permit will be issued."

"In the past five years, we have processed over 10,000 temporary entry permits for 144-hour transit stays and nearly 140,000 permits for 24-hour transits," he added.

The China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair), scheduled to take place in Guangzhou from April 15 to May 5, has seen over 90,000 global buyers complete exhibition pre-registration. Canton Fair, called as the "Top Exhibition of China", serves as a barometer and indicator of China's foreign trade. To facilitate attendees' arrival, the Guangzhou General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection has prepared corresponding measures.

Zhou Yingqiang, Director of the border inspection department, stated, "We have established dedicated channels at all ports and formed a team of foreign language services, offering translation and guidance in 13 languages such as English, French, Arabic and Thai for exhibitors from various countries."

"For attendees from 54 countries eligible under Guangdong Province's 144-hour transit visa waiver policy and unable to obtain visas in time, we have set up temporary entry permit processing counters at Baiyun Airport, providing 'dedicated windows for dedicated personnel' services. Those who are lawfully abiding can enjoy their short-term stay by going through the process of applying for a Temporary Entry Permit for Foreigners," Zhou emphasized.

On combating cross-border crimes, Jin Weicheng said that Guangzhou Border Inspection, with the help of relevant law enforcement departments, has stopped 29,000 unregulated personnel entries, 300 unlawful vehicles and seized about 2,000 suspects.

He further added, "collaborating with relevant law enforcement departments, Guangzhou Border Inspection has been actively participating in actions against maritime smuggling and cross-border drug trafficking. We have jointly seized smuggled goods worth 91 million RMB and confiscated over 670 kilograms of drugs."

Reporter | Steven Yuen, Feng Zhichao (intern), Chen Jinqing (intern), Huang Chen (intern), Zhi Zhucheng (intern)