Cross-border land ports bustling again as restrictions lifted

Some 2,800 passengers and 1,500 trucks passed through the port on Sunday, according to local authorities.

In 2020, the local government introduced a special customs clearance system for cross-border drivers. All Chinese freight vehicles entering and leaving the port were driven by designated cross-border drivers who were under strict closed-loop management.

Now, these drivers no longer need to wear protective clothing, and regular truck drivers are once again allowed to transport goods across the border.

Lu Qinghua, a truck driver for an international logistics company in Pingxiang, arrived at the port early on Sunday to transport goods to Vietnam for the first time in three years.

"The customs service is just as efficient as it was before the epidemic, and I can now return to driving my truck between China and Vietnam," he said.

Liang Donghai, who manages a local supply chain company, said the end of closed loop management is expected to increase customs clearance efficiency by 60 percent and reduce costs for his company by the same level.

"Before you know it, our company's business will have returned to the pre-epidemic level," he said.