BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese customs offices have achieved substantial progress in promoting cross-border trade facilitation in recent years, an official said on Tuesday.

"The overall customs clearance time for import and export goods has become shorter," Zhao Zenglian, an official from the General Administration of Customs, told a press conference.

In 2022, the overall time taken for import and export goods to complete customs clearance was 32.02 hours and 1.03 hours, respectively, dropping 67.1 percent and 91.6 percent from 2017, Zhao said.

Other improvements include lower costs and streamlined procedures for imports and exports, aiming to reduce enterprises' financial burdens and better meet their business needs.

Tuesday's press conference also revealed that the administration handled 148 suggestions from deputies to the National People's Congress and 141 proposals from members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference last year.

(Source: Xinhua)