Walking into a large supermarket store in Shenzhen, citizen Chen Aixiang was pushing a shopping cart and selecting among the shelves. Fresh Peruvian blueberries, Thai durians, and seafood from Australia and New Zealand were added to the shopping cart one after another. “It’s so convenient to be able to buy delicacies from so many countries in one trip!” Chen Aixiang said with emotion.
The heavy shopping cart is a vivid epitome of Asia-Pacific economic and trade cooperation. Thanks to the continued advancement of regional trade liberalization and facilitation, delicacies from different APEC member economies are reaching the dining tables of thousands of households with unprecedented efficiency.
"Snatch" through customs clearance: take back time from the road
Delivering fresh food is a race against time. In April 2025, the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong and the Airport Authority Hong Kong piloted the "Exclusive Express Line for Air and Land Fresh Products" to provide an exclusive channel for overseas fresh and chilled aquatic products and fruits to mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area via the Hong Kong International Airport and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge by simplifying transit customs clearance and quarantine arrangements.
The picture shows cherries from Tasmania, Australia. (Photo provided by interviewee)
Peng Fuqiang, vice president of the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce in South China, told reporters that Australia has intensive routes to Hong Kong, China. Relying on the Hong Kong International Airport, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and supporting customs clearance facilities, aquatic products from Australia can enter the Greater Bay Area market efficiently.
"Nowadays, lobsters caught from Australia can be transported from Hong Kong, China to Zhuhai via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in one hour, and all customs clearance procedures can be completed within three hours. They can go directly from the farms and fisheries in the place of origin to the dining tables of consumers in the Greater Bay Area within 24 hours," Peng Fuqiang said.
Pictured here are Australian lobsters delivered to a Chinese restaurant. (Photo provided by interviewee)
The pace of inland ports is also accelerating. In November, the Youyiguan Port in Pingxiang, Guangxi was busy. As one of the largest overland fruit passages in China, fresh fruits such as Vietnamese durian, dragon fruit, and Thai pomelo are constantly welcomed here to supply the domestic market.
Cheng Hongshuai, president of the Guangxi Pingxiang Fruit Chamber of Commerce, introduced to China News Service reporters the "fastest link from branches to supermarkets" for Vietnamese durians: fresh fruits picked in the early morning are sent to the factory for sorting, processing and packaging, and then "taken" a cross-border cold chain vehicle directly to the Youyi Pass port. Relying on measures such as green channels and full-information intelligent customs clearance, trucks transporting durians can clear customs in seconds.
"Ideally, fresh fruit can be put on domestic supermarket shelves within 72 hours at the earliest." Cheng Hongshuai said.
The picture shows durians from Vietnam being unpacked and inspected during transfer at the Youyiguan Port in Pingxiang, Guangxi. (Photo provided by interviewee)
Today, China has achieved mutual recognition of AEOs ("Authorized Economic Operators") with 10 APEC member economies, and customs clearance facilitation continues to advance. A series of operations eventually lead to a tangible result: the shelf time of imported fresh food has changed from "measured by days" to "measured by hours."
Access “expansion”: from early adopters in season to year-round availability
If customs clearance is about "fast", admission is about "having".
Having been in the industry for more than ten years, Cheng Hongshuai said frankly that he feels the tangible dividends that APEC-related policies have brought to the industry.
"In the early years, we mainly imported mangosteens, longans, and pitayas. Later, Vietnamese durians and other fruits were successively approved for export to China, and more and more fruits from APEC member economies were granted access to China." Cheng Hongshuai said that some fruits have changed from short-term peak season categories to year-round categories, and the supply structure has become more stable.
Every "lengthening" of the access list corresponds to the "new addition" of consumers' fruit baskets.
In 2016, Peruvian blueberries were allowed to enter China. Xinrongmao Fruit Technology Group introduced them to the Chinese market and has now become the leading company in importing Peruvian blueberries into China.
The picture shows the origin of Jiavo blueberries in Peru. (Photo courtesy of the interviewed companies)
Zhao Fanghua, marketing director of Golden Wing Mau China, told reporters that in recent years, more and more fresh fruits have been imported from other APEC member economies. "We truly feel that policy dividends continue to be released. In addition, Shenzhen's complete industrial supporting facilities, fruit trade, cold chain logistics, and market distribution form a complete industrial chain, which effectively reduces the cost of fresh fruit imports, and also allows this benefit to directly reach enterprises and benefit consumers."
As China's fruit market opening continues to accelerate, China's imports of agricultural products from other APEC economies will exceed US$100 billion in 2025, accounting for "half" of total agricultural product imports. In the first eight months of this year, China will continue to grow by 6.5% year-on-year. The continuous deepening of open cooperation is the greatest confidence for "Blueberry Freedom" and "Cherry Freedom".
While the "APEC flavor" is enriching the Chinese people's dining tables, China's high-quality products are also accelerating towards the Asia-Pacific market. Zhao Fanghua revealed that this year, he plans to take advantage of international sports events and other events to continue exporting Chinese high-quality fruit brands to other APEC member economies.
It is becoming more and more open and efficient, and the wonderful "taste" of Asia-Pacific economic and trade cooperation is hidden in the ever-expanding dining table.
