On November 6, during the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE), the themed event "Smart Customs Empowering Trade Security and Facilitation—High-Level Opening-Up and Trade Facilitation in the New Era" was held at the Shanghai National Convention Center. The event was co-organized by the General Administration of Customs and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. Qian Bin, Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Bank of Communications (BankCOMM), attended and delivered a speech.

Qian Bin stated that BankCOMM is closely following the trends of trade digitization and green transformation, leveraging its fintech strengths to integrate into smart customs development. The bank aims to create efficient, low-cost, and highly scalable cross-border payment and settlement solutions. Key initiatives include: - Promoting the application of the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) to facilitate the "last mile" of cross-border RMB settlement. - Innovating in multilateral central bank digital currency (CBDC) bridge-based cross-border letter of credit payments, achieving significant progress in expanding multi-scenario applications of digital RMB in cross-border payments. - Supporting the upgrade of customs regulatory credit systems, with products like electronic customs duty payments and multi-purpose customs duty guarantees serving over 10,000 clients, cumulatively handling 1.6 trillion yuan in transactions. Pilot projects such as "electronic customs deposit refunds" and "express cargo guarantee digitization" have been successfully implemented. - Launching the "BankCOMM Aviation & Trade Connect" service, integrating tax, customs, and shipping documents to strengthen the convergence of capital flow, information flow, and goods flow, thereby building a new ecosystem for cross-border financial services.

Qian Bin emphasized that BankCOMM will continue to enhance fintech applications, aiming to facilitate trade by deepening the integration of digital technologies and international trade. The bank will explore the use of blockchain, artificial intelligence, and big data in cross-border payments, trade finance, and risk management, fostering a new "Smart Customs + Smart Finance" ecosystem. These efforts will contribute to trade innovation, high-quality Belt and Road development, and other major strategic initiatives.