The fifth international joint action summary conference of "Operation Thunderball" and "Operation Earth Goddess," which was co-held by China Customs and the World Customs Organization, was held in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday. Photo: Guo Yuandan/GT

 Chinese customs authorities have fulfilled their promises in terms of environmental protection, said Kunio Mikuriya, secretary general of the World Customs Organization (WCO), adding that he is looking forward to the application of China's 5G technology in the global trade and customs system.

Mikuriya made the comments at the fifth international joint action summary conference for "Operation Thunderball" and "Operation Earth Goddess," which was held jointly by the China Customs and the World Customs Organization in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday morning.

"China has been successfully promoting cooperation among all countries in the field of environmental protection and has become a major driving force in globalization that has brought many new technologies, such as 5G, artificial intelligence and data analysis, which can be used for information exchange," Mikuriya noted.

The WCO and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) coordinated "Operation Thunderball," with police and customs administrations leading joint enforcement operations against wildlife crime across 109 countries from June 4 to 30. 

Initiated by WCO member states and launched by the WCO, "Operation Earth Goddess" was carried out from September 2 to 30 to fight against cross-border smuggling of solid waste.

According to the conference, China, as a core member, made a total of 1,828 seizures, involving 440 pieces of ivory and 545 kilograms of ivory products, 2,550 cubic meters of wood, and nearly 10,000 marine wildlife species and their products, during "Operation Thunderball."

China also reported 232 cases, including 201 waste cases, and seized 4,585 tons of smuggled waste during "Operation Earth Goddess."

China not only plays the role of promoter and leader in promoting international and regional law enforcement cooperation, but also takes many actions at home. From January to October 2019, China Customs handled 444 cases of smuggling of endangered species and their products, and seized 1,238 tons of endangered species and their products.

Moreover, China's efforts to crack down on the smuggling of solid waste have also made remarkable progress. Sun Zhijie, director of the anti-smuggling bureau of the General Administration of Customs, said that the number of cases on file and the amount of waste involved decreased by 23 percent and 52 percent year-on-year, respectively."

China was a big importer of solid waste in the past, and as China strengthens its crackdown, solid waste has started to spread to neighboring countries instead, such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand, Sun told the Global Times.

China Customs will continue to strengthen supervision and crack down on smuggling, so as to face future challenges with more advanced technology, more professional measures and closer cooperation, said Ni Yuefeng, director of the General Administration of Customs, at the conference.

Global Times