With a capacity to receive electronic quarantine certificates from Taiwan, the cross-Straits inspection and quarantine data exchange center of Pingtan, Fujian province recently started its operation, according to ptnet.cn on Dec 7.

The e-certificate contains information and a scan of the paper certificates issued by the Taiwan inspection and quarantine authority.

The Pingtan's data exchange center was the first of its kind on the Chinese mainland that had implemented dual data transformation on quarantine inspection with Trade-Van, a Taiwan service supplier.

It received e-certificates from Taiwan and then transmitted the certificates to the entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities on the mainland, which greatly improved efficiency of customs clearance of Taiwan products.

The first beneficiary of this data exchange center was a local commercial trade company that completed the formalities of quarantine inspection for its 350 containers of products imported from Taiwan with an e-certificate on Dec 2 and further sent those products to the Pingtan-Taiwan Duty-Free Commodity Market.

One of the staff of the company said that instead of handing inspection and quarantine materials to the local entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau, the e-certificate was incredibly time-saving.