China ratifies U.N. intermodal transport convention

The U.N. Economic Commission for Europe said China has ratified the TIR Convention, which it says will further streamline cross-border transportation for cargo moving between China and Europe.    The U.N. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said China has ratified the “Transports Internationaux Routiers” (TIR) Convention, which it says will further streamline cross-border transportation for cargo moving between China and Europe.
   China’s inclusion in TIR brings the number of contracting parties to the convention to 70 across five continents. The convention will enter into force for China on Jan. 5, 2017.
   EU-China trade reached 520 billion euros in 2015, and about 60 percent of that transited by sea, according to Eurostat estimates, while rail and road accounted for about 10 percent of China’s exports to the European Union, and 3.2 percent of EU exports to China.
   “China’s accession to the TIR Convention will open new efficient and faster transport opportunities and transport routes between China and Europe. It can become a real game changer for international trade and is a strong contribution to the Chinese vision for ‘One Road One Belt,’” said UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach in a statement.
   The TIR transit system is the only global intermodal customs transit system. More than 35,000 road transport operators worldwide are already authorized to use the TIR system effecting about 1.5 million TIR border-crossing procedures per year, UNECE said.
   “The accession of China will further foster the opportunities for economic growth and development of China and transit countries, facilitate trade with Central Asian countries, Mongolia and the European Union, as well as stimulate China’s transit and logistics services,” UNECE added. “China’s neighbors on its northern and western borders are already contracting parties to the TIR Convention, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan.”
   The UNECE explained that the application of the TIR system will provide China the opportunity to shift its export goods under a “single, simplified transit procedure” to EU countries for all transport modes. It’s estimated that more than 1,200 Chinese road transport companies ship freight across China’s land borders, conducting more than 700,000 transit operations per year.
   Meanwhile, China is studying the benefits of acceding to other U.N. conventions, such as the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) and the International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Control of Goods.