Shanghai International Trade Single Window: Ten Years of Innovation, Driving Digital Transformation, Empowering Global Trade

Shanghai International Trade Single Window: Ten Years of Innovation, Driving Digital Transformation, Empowering Global TradeAs a significant outcome of institutional innovation in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Shanghai International Trade Single Window, officially launched on June 18, 2014, has become the world's largest local international trade Single Window in terms of data processing volume. It has made outstanding contributions to accelerating the digital transformation of the Shanghai port and optimizing the business environment in Shanghai

Shanghai International Trade Single Window: Ten Years of Innovation, Driving Digital Transformation, Empowering Global Trade

As a significant outcome of institutional innovation in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Shanghai International Trade Single Window, officially launched on June 18, 2014, has become the world's largest local international trade Single Window in terms of data processing volume. It has made outstanding contributions to accelerating the digital transformation of the Shanghai port and optimizing the business environment in Shanghai. Over the past ten years, the Shanghai International Trade Single Window has continuously leveraged scenarios and followed demand-oriented principles, integrating blockchain innovation to continuously enhance digital and intelligent application levels. It has achieved remarkable results in promoting the facilitation and security of global trade.

Gemstone Traceability Platform: Building a Trust System for Cross-border Trade

"Small size, high value, and difficult supervision" have always been pain points for the gemstone industry. Identifying the value of gemstones requires strong expertise, and consumers often rely on a single gemstone identification certificate attached to a product, making it difficult to determine the true economic value. To address this challenge, the Shanghai International Trade Single Window and the China (Shanghai) Gemstone Exchange jointly launched the construction of a gemstone traceability public service platform in 2023.

The platform utilizes the decentralized and tamper-proof features of blockchain technology. It focuses on the five key nodes of cross-border gemstone trade, including processing, logistics, customs clearance, exhibition and sales, and identification. This allows for the integration of all process information into the platform, establishing a point-to-point full-data channel for the entire gemstone industry chain. Each gemstone generates a unique 11-digit identity code, implementing "one object, one code."

This measure not only enables accurate querying from foreign mine sources to domestic import ends for all stages of gemstones, but also helps consumers and upstream and downstream enterprises quickly retrieve information at each stage, enhancing the security of gemstone trade. At the same time, data is permanently chained and traceability information is shared, providing relevant departments with full-process supervision of cross-border gemstone trade, improving trade facilitation.

The launch of the Asia-Pacific Gemstone Traceability Public Service Platform has yielded significant results:

• During the 6th China International Import Expo in 2023, gemstones with a value of approximately RMB 200 million were certified and traced through the platform.

• To date, the platform has served over 200 domestic and foreign enterprises, with a total value of over US$1 billion.

• It will continue to serve the gemstone product chain traceability at the 7th CIIE.

Ten Years of Development, Building a New Benchmark for the International Trade Single Window

Since its construction began in 2014, the functions of the Shanghai International Trade Single Window have evolved from the initial six functional modules to become 16 functional sections and 66 featured applications covering "foreign trade + finance," "customs clearance + logistics," and "supervision + service," supporting over one-quarter of the national trade volume and serving over 600,000 enterprises.

The successful experience of the Shanghai International Trade Single Window has been replicated and promoted nationwide, mainly through the following aspects:

• Breaking down information silos, eliminating system bottlenecks, and significantly improving cross-border trade facilitation.

• Providing a unified trade data processing and exchange platform, connecting information systems between regulatory departments, enabling information sharing and collaborative supervision.

• Becoming the digital foundation for Shanghai to promote the optimization of the port's business environment, effectively enhancing trade efficiency and transparency.

Embracing New Technologies, Building a New Generation of Intelligent Single Window

Based on the e-port and integrating technologies like blockchain and big data, the digital transformation of the Shanghai International Trade Single Window is continuously upgrading.

In terms of cross-border product traceability, the gemstone traceability public service platform promotes the networking, digitization, and convenience of trade, facilitating interconnectivity within the Asia-Pacific supply chain. In the next step, the platform will continuously improve its functions, further expanding the length of the traceability chain, and expanding the types of traceable goods, such as medical devices and luxury goods, to broaden the scope of functional applications.

In terms of cross-border trade settlement, using fresh cold chain as a pilot, blockchain is used to connect banks and the Single Window, enabling information flow, document flow, and funds flow in trade settlement to flow securely and orderly through banks and the Single Window for automatic verification, enabling fresh cold chain companies to realize intelligent and automated cross-border trade prepayment verification.

In the future, Shanghai will continue to uphold the principles of openness, inclusiveness, and collaborative innovation, actively promoting the construction of the International Trade Single Window, building a new generation of intelligent international trade Single Window with excellent global service capabilities for trade digital transformation, leading levels of intelligent port supervision and service, effectively supporting efficient connections between international and domestic markets, and possessing international influence, contributing to global trade development.

Summary:

Over the past ten years, the Shanghai International Trade Single Window has made significant progress in optimizing the business environment and improving trade facilitation, becoming a global benchmark for trade digitization. Future development will continue to be driven by innovation, deepening application scenarios, expanding service scope, and helping global trade move towards a new era that is safer, more convenient, and more efficient.