On July 20, the pilot policy for high-level opening-up and facilitation of cross-border trade was officially implemented in Hunan Province. Under the guidance of the Huaihua Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the Bank of China Huaihua Branch successfully completed the city's first pilot facilitation business, with the entire process from application acceptance to review completion taking only five minutes. This marks a solid step forward for Huaihua in deepening foreign trade system reform and optimizing the business environment.
On the same day, adhering to the principles of "Know Your Customer," "Know Your Business," and "Due Diligence Review," the Bank of China, Huaihua Branch, comprehensively simplified the review procedures for foreign exchange receipts and payments under current account transactions. By streamlining documentation, compressing processes, and enabling ultra-fast handling, the bank efficiently completed the transaction for a high-quality garment export enterprise based in Huaihua. The company's head expressed strong recognition of this "Huaihua Speed."
The high-level opening-up pilot program for cross-border trade represents a major initiative to facilitate cross-border trade, enable more business entities to conduct cross-border trade transactions in compliance with regulations, improve the effectiveness of foreign exchange services in supporting the real economy, and promote high-quality development through high-level opening-up.
According to the Implementation Rules for the High-Level Opening-Up Pilot Program on Cross-Border Trade issued by the Hunan Provincial Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, prudentially compliant banks are authorized to provide eligible high-quality enterprises with a range of facilitation services. These include: facilitating foreign exchange receipts and payments under current accounts; optimizing settlement procedures for new types of international trade; expanding the scope of netting settlement for trade receipts and payments; exempting special foreign exchange refunds beyond time limits—such as those related to goods trade—from prior registration; improving the management of advance payments or cost-sharing arrangements under service trade; facilitating access to foreign exchange for salaries of employees of foreign-related enterprises; and simplifying procedures for centralized collection, payment, and netting settlement of current account funds for qualified multinational corporations.
Since the beginning of this year, the Huaihua Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange has held four government-bank-enterprise symposiums to bring cross-border trade facilitation policies directly to the front line of businesses. At these meetings, systematic explanations were provided regarding the criteria for identifying high-quality enterprises, the content of facilitation services, and other relevant matters, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of the pilot policy.
In the next phase, the branch will continue to coordinate with the Municipal Bureau of Commerce and various designated foreign exchange banks to intensify policy promotion and targeted guidance. Efforts will be made to include more foreign-related enterprises in the list of high-quality enterprises, transforming the "first-case effect" into a "scale effect." By making cross-border trade facilitation a precise entry point, the branch aims to serve the broader vision of building the Huaihua International Land Port.
(Translated by Feng Tao)