On June 2, 2018, the “High-end Forum on Customs Administration: China’s Reform and Opening-up and Customs Development (the third session)”, jointly sponsored by the University of International Business and Economics, the Research Center of the General Administration of Customs and the Chinese Academy of Customs Administration, was successfully held in our university. President Wang Jiaqiong of the University of International Business and Economics, Director Li Kuiwen of the Research Center of the General Administration of Customs and Dean Du Xiangpei of the Chinese Academy of Customs Administration attended the forum.  

President Wang Jiaqiong, Director Li Kuiwen and Dean Du Xiangpei delivered speeches. President Wang Jiaqiong mentioned that this year is the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening-up policy, and the customs has played an important role in the development of China’s open economy. He also expressed hopes and raised higher requirements for the characteristic discipline Customs Administration from the perspective of the first-class discipline construction of the school’s “open discipline groups of economics” policy. He put forward to deepen the cooperation between the discipline construction of Customs Administration and the relevant departments of the General Administration of Customs and public institutions. Director Li Kuiwen reviewed the whole process of the reform of the management functions and institutions of the Chinese Customs in the past 40 years, and expounded the connotation and practical path of the construction of the new customs. Dean Du Xiangpei introduced the historical development of Chinese Academy of Customs Administration, and the main tasks and successful practices in the new era.

More than 70 experts, scholars, think tank numbers, graduate students and foreign students attended the forum. They discussed the topics of customs administration research, discipline construction and practical reform. The forum is hosted by the School of Public Administration, University of International Business and Economics, and Dean Fan Libo is the main host. In his opening speech, Dean Fan Libo mentioned that the University of International Business and Economics is an important research institution of customs administration and a domestic key university for the training of customs administrators. He said “as always, we will aim at the frontier areas to carry out systematic and basic researches, and strive to make our distinctive advantages stronger.”

In the academic seminar, five experts and scholars made keynote speeches in the morning. The Deputy Director of the Research Center of the General Administration of Customs, Su Tie, summarized the process, achievements and problems of the Customs reform since the reform and opening up in the last 40 years, and raised the requirements for the development of the Customs in the new period. Du Xiangpei, Dean of Chinese Academy of Customs Administration, expounded the current situation and achievements of the training of Customs cadres in China, and puts forward that the reform of the education of Customs cadres should be deepened through the thorough implementation of Xi Jinping’s cadre education thought. Next, Professor Li Hailian, Deputy professor of the Customs Department of our university, and Jiang Cheng, director of the China Customs Information Center, made speeches on specific areas of customs. Professor Li Hailian compared in detail the difference between FTA that along the “one belt and one road” and China, and then expounded the influence of FTA from the perspective of origin. Director Jiang Cheng gave a detailed description of the development of the application of big data in China’s Customs. At the same time, he shared the classic cases of Customs management and emphasized the importance of the application of big data in Customs management in the new era. Finally, Professor Wang Shuwen, Vice Dean of the School of Public Administration, analyzed the organizational changes of the China Customs in the past 40 years, and put forward some suggestions for reform. After the experts’ speeches, Director Li Kuiwen of the Research Center of the General Administration of Customs commented that the special report of experts and scholars has brought us some great inspiration: Firstly, focusing on the application of new technologies; secondly, the forward-looking Customs strategy is very inspiring to the work being carried out by the China Customs. Professor Sang Baichuan, Dean of National Institute of Economics, University of International Business and Economics, made a summary and some comments on the keynote speeches. He believed that China put forward the idea of development-oriented globalization, in the development of globalization, paying attention to both the rules and the interests of development. Under such changing conditions, there will be new problems in the study of customs and new development results.

Professor Wang Shuwen chaired the round table forum in the first half of the afternoon. Experts and scholars expounded on the theme of “theory and practice in the development of customs”. Jiang Xiaoping, Director of Beijing Ruiku Trade Safety and Facilitation Research Center, analyzed the current trade facilitation evaluation research in China. Through reforming the mainstream evaluation method to suit China's national conditions, he showed us a lot of new research data and a fairer way to evaluate China’s trade facilitation. Wang Chunrui, Director of the Georgia regional Center of Regional Research Institute of UIBE, analyzed the feasibility and background of the jointing of Eurasian Economic Alliance and the “one belt and one road”. At the same time, she put forward three suggestions to three aspects: multi-sectoral linkage, contribution to China and technical support. Wang Yi, from Research Center of the General Administration of Customs, discussed the integration and innovation of Customs functions in the context of global trade security and facilitation, and elaborated on the measures taken by China Customs to safeguard trade security and facilitation in practice. Cui Jinghua from Customs Administration Department, and Zhan Jian, Vice Deputy of Second Research Center of Customs Supervision and Control Technology Research Center, respectively shared research opinions on the relationship between tariff concessions and the rapid development of China’s economy, and the customs supervision of radioactive substances. Finally, two scholars, Li Yong and Li Liang, respectively summarized the role and contribution of customs in the implementation of the overall national security and in the reform and opening up. Subsequently, Professor Huang Shengqiang, Director of Customs Administration Department of Shanghai Customs College, and Professor Bao Jing, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of China Administration Society, commented on the speeches made by various experts and scholars, and at the same time put forward the challenges faced by China’s trade facilitation.

Teng Yun, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Public Administration, presided over the forum on “Development of the Major Customs Administration and Discipline Construction” and several experts participated in the discussion. Professor Zheng Juntian of Customs Administration Department, Professor Wang Feiyi of Shanghai Customs College and Professor Niu Qi of Chinese Academy of Customs Administration respectively explained their thoughts on the construction of Customs Administration discipline and case teaching. Professor Zheng Juntian made a general review of the current situation of Customs discipline teaching in China, and expressed his own views on the future development opportunities, discipline construction and teaching methods of this discipline; Professor Wang Feiyi emphasized on the positioning of Customs in the current disciplinary environment and the difficulties faced by it, through quantitative analysis, he gave a detailed explanation and expressed his views on the future direction of Customs discipline in the end. Niu Qi expounded the current practice and future development possibilities of the adult training section of Customs. Finally, the three experts and scholars and other experts attending the meeting have conducted in-depth discussions on the development and discipline construction of Customs Management, and put forward constructive views on the future construction and development of Customs discipline.

During the interactive discussion on discipline construction and personnel training, Bao Jing, Vice President and Secretary-general of China Administration Society, Huang Shengqiang, Director of Shanghai Customs College, Wang Mingsheng from National Sun Yat-sen University, Yang Chengguang, former Director of the General Office of General Administration of Customs, and Fan Libo, Dean of the School of Public Administration of the University of International Business and Economics, successively made speeches and formed many consensus. Customs discipline should integrate the theories of public management, economics and national security, focus on tax collection, security, supervision, big data development and other fields, gradually form a community of scholars, and form regular academic meetings and academic research journals.

This forum has set up an important platform for many important scholars in the field of domestic customs research to get together and make a profound analysis and discussion on the development of the discipline, academic research, future discipline construction and problems in practice. China has entered a new era, international environment has been going through constant changes, globalization has made the borders of countries gradually become “virtual”, cooperation between countries become increasing deepened, customs as a “national gatekeeper”, is an indispensable role in today’s environment of cooperation and development. This forum, not only provided a platform for scholars to deep discuss and understand the current situation of the academic and practical fields of the Customs in China, but also show the directions for the future development and practice road of the Customs discipline in China.