On August 22, 2023, at 11:34 am, five foreign vehicles carrying 79 tons of walnuts, steel pipes, and other goods with the "TIR" logo slowly drove out of the Kashgar customs supervision warehouse under the supervision of Kashgar customs officers, passing through the Hongqirapu border port, and arrived in the Pakistani capital Islamabad in about 3 days, marking the start of the first TIR transportation business between China and Pakistan. This is also the first TIR transportation business between China and Pakistan to establish diplomatic relations and trade relations, enriching Xinjiang's cross-border transportation mode, helping Kashgar become an important pivot in the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt in southern Xinjiang, and opening up a new international logistics channel for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

It is reported that TIR, also known as the Convention on International Road Transport, is a globally applicable international customs transit and guarantee system. It is a global customs facilitation system established on the basis of the United Nations Convention in the field of international cross-border goods transportation. By simplifying customs procedures, it improves customs clearance efficiency, promotes the facilitation and security of multilateral trade and international transportation. Since its establishment in 1949, the TIR system has 78 contracting parties in the world, covering most countries along the the Belt and Road. China officially joined the TIR Convention in July 2016 and implemented the TIR system in May 2018. Since then, TIR transportation has been directly connected to more than 30 countries in Asia and Europe from China, and the time limit for cross-border road freight of over 7000 kilometers has been shortened to about two weeks.

2023 is the tenth anniversary of the launch of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is an important pilot project of the the Belt and Road Initiative. After the opening of TIR transportation between China and Pakistan this time, it can further assist enterprises in enjoying customs clearance convenience. Benefiting from the mutual recognition of customs supervision of various countries, TIR applies customs locks throughout the transportation of goods. In principle, the customs along the way do not open the box for inspection. It greatly simplifies the customs clearance process, improves the level of trade facilitation, improves the efficiency of goods transportation, saves transportation time and costs, and will help Kashgar to be deeply integrated into the construction of the the Belt and Road, making it an important fulcrum in southern Xinjiang, the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, and an corridor bridge of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Next, Kashgar Customs will focus on the construction of smart ports, continuously optimize the port business environment, improve regulatory services, implement various trade facilitation measures, and based on the unique geographical advantages of Kashgar region, promote the vigorous development of TIR transportation business, further enrich cross-border trade methods, and help the construction of the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt to a new level. Editor/Zhao E