Simple nod for cultural items next

Source: Xinhua | 2017-03-27

COMPANIES dealing in cultural products and artworks in the Shanghai free trade zone will benefit from a simplified approval process, according to Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

The bureau inspected US$16.65 million worth of imported cultural products and artworks in the FTZ last year and approved all of them.

The bureau said its next step is to simplify the time-consuming approval process for companies acting in good faith. Firms officially recognized by the bureau as acting in good faith will have their imports released immediately without further screening over the next three years.

But the bureau didn’t reveal more details of its next move.

Last year, 36.19 billion yuan (US$5.3 billion) of cultural products were imported and exported through Shanghai, an annual rise of 9.3 percent.

The import and export of cultural services via Shanghai were worth US$3.99 billion in 2016, up 6.4 percent annually.