Cargo trade between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland has seen robust growth in the past 28 years since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, having expanded more than four-fold.

According to Shenzhen Customs, the value of bilateral trade in goods climbed from 420.87 billion yuan ($58.71 billion) in 1997 to 2.2 trillion yuan last year -- an average annual growth of 6.3 percent.

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Exports and imports through Shenzhen ports rose 6.5 percent year-on-year to 650.24 billion yuan in the first five months of this year. The volume accounted for nearly 70 percent of the total trade value between the mainland and the special administrative region, highlighting the role Shenzhen ports play in boosting Hong Kong-mainland cooperation.

The Customs authorities said special operations have been launched to facilitate cross-boundary trade for six consecutive years. This year, 24 measures were implemented in five areas to create a more efficient and transparent business environment at the Shenzhen-Hong Kong boundary.

To save time and manpower required for Customs declarations and cut operating costs for enterprises, Shenzhen Customs has implemented the Single Submission for Dual Declaration program for cargo, enabling businesses to complete Customs declarations for both the mainland and Hong Kong by making a single submission of road cargo information.

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The initiative -- part of cooperation arrangements between the General Administration of Customs and Hong Kong Customs -- initially applied to cargo transported through designated control points. It has now been extended to all land boundary control points.

“In the past, we had to submit cargo information to mainland and Hong Kong Customs, with different requirements. At present, we need to make only one submission, saving more than half an hour in time and reducing errors in the process,” said Chen Jun, general manager assistant of Sinotrans (HK) Warehousing.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com