Since the beginning of 2025, Binzhou Customs, under the jurisdiction of Jinan Customs, has intensified its synergistic efforts with the Agricultural Bank of China's (ABC) Binzhou Branch. Guided by a joint incentive cooperation memorandum signed between the General Administration of Customs and ABC's headquarters, the initiative focuses on the development needs of AEO advanced certification enterprises. Through coordinated policies, information sharing, and integrated services, it aims to channel financial resources precisely to foreign trade entities, injecting robust momentum into the "Binzhou Enterprises Creating a Global Presence" campaign.
By precisely aligning with financing needs, the collaboration channels financial resources to fuel enterprise growth. Binzhou Customs provided ABC's Binzhou Branch with a list of 16 local AEO enterprises and their credit evaluation data, assisting the bank in streamlining its credit approval processes. Leveraging the credit endorsement of Customs' AEO certification, ABC's Binzhou Branch offers prioritized and preferential financing support to certified firms, expanding credit lines and innovating financial product applications to lower overall financing costs. For instance, Shandong Xiangchi Jianyuan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was included in a white list for export credit insurance policy financing, receiving unsecured loan support, with cumulative credit insurance financing reaching 35.06 million yuan within the year. An additional 70 million yuan in special trade financing credit was approved, strongly supporting the company's production operations and international trade expansion. In a joint effort with ABC's Dubai Financial Center, a 44-million-yuan short-term working capital loan was arranged for Joyful Home Textiles Co., Ltd. The initiative also enhanced chain-based financial services, processing 176 million yuan in "Domestic Letter of Credit + Buyer's Forfaiting" transactions for companies like Joyful Home Textiles and Shandong Binzhou Printing and Dyeing Group Import & Export Co., Ltd. By the end of 2025, the international business credit utilization for 12 AEO-certified enterprises in the region reached 3.524 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 48.52%.
Optimizing cross-border settlement services has been key to removing bottlenecks in corporate fund flows. Addressing pain points in AEO firms' cross-border settlements, Binzhou Customs promoted specialized activities such as international business labor competitions and marketing campaigns for cross-border RMB services. Establishing a "12235" customer visit service mechanism, it provided AEO enterprises with efficient and convenient international settlement and currency exchange services, achieving an international settlement volume of 585 million USD. Six AEO enterprises were prioritized for inclusion in a foreign exchange revenue and expenditure facilitation pilot program, processing 728 trade facilitation transactions totaling 160 million USD annually, significantly reducing processing times for businesses. Capitalizing on the advantages of Customs credit certification, it assisted ABC in becoming the first within the provincial system to enable capital project business declarations via Jingbo's online banking platform. This achievement facilitated full online processing for scenarios like FDI and ODI, with a cumulative transaction value of 650 million yuan, markedly reducing time and operational costs for enterprises. Additionally, the initiative provided letter of credit settlement support, processing 233 million USD in transactions within the year, and aided companies in unified scheduling of domestic and foreign currency funds, handling 10.5 billion yuan in domestic currency pool business and 120 million USD in foreign currency pool business, effectively lowering transaction costs.
Implementing fee reduction and profit-concession policies has helped enterprises mitigate exchange rate fluctuation risks. Focusing on the impact of exchange rate volatility on AEO firms' foreign trade operations, Binzhou Customs adopted multiple measures to help businesses build a robust risk "protective shield." It conducted specialized marketing for exchange rate hedging services and campaigns like "Option for 1 Yuan," tailoring hedging solutions for enterprises. Within the year, it facilitated 300 million USD in exchange rate hedging transactions for AEO companies including Joyful Home Textiles, Xiangchi Jianyuan, and Bohai Oils & Fats. Exchange rate preferential treatments were secured for five enterprises, cumulatively saving 2.59 million yuan in foreign exchange settlement and sales costs. A key client exchange rate hedging seminar titled "Intelligently Navigating Storms, Collaborating for the Future" was organized, featuring experts from ABC's headquarters to interpret international exchange rate trends and introduce specialized hedging products. The event addressed challenges in exchange rate management during AEO firms' global expansion, safeguarding their steady entry into international markets.
Deepening Customs-bank collaboration has established a new framework for pro-enterprise service cooperation. Binzhou Customs established a regular cooperation mechanism, deepening collaboration in three key areas: information exchange, policy coordination, and enterprise services, fostering a virtuous cycle of "credit cultivation + financial empowerment." Customs periodically shares AEO enterprise lists and credit updates with the bank, while the bank recommends high-quality clients to Customs for prioritized AEO credit cultivation, collectively expanding the region's roster of advanced certified enterprises. An innovative "Customs Chief + Bank President Delivering Policies Door-to-Door" service model was introduced, involving joint policy briefings and business training. This provides enterprises with one-on-one, end-to-end services from AEO certification guidance to financial solution matching, achieving a synergistic effect where "1+1 > 2." In September 2025, Binzhou Customs and ABC's Binzhou Branch co-hosted the launch ceremony for the "Binzhou Enterprises Creating a Global Presence" government-bank-enterprise cooperation initiative and a foreign trade policy promotion event. On-site, "Foreign Trade + Finance" cooperation agreements were signed with four AEO enterprises, ensuring the precise implementation of policy benefits.
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