ON the recently held Pan Pearl River Delta customs cooperation meeting in Hunan, the province struck cooperation deal with Shenzhen, Guangxi and Fujian on transregional customs clearance.

This is another breakthrough for the Hunan customs on transregional collaboration after signing deal with Shanghai customs in 2008, said the report of Xinhua.

The agreements signed this time, which are said to be "highly operable", involves cooperation on multimodal
transport, simplifying customs clearance procedures and improving directing trucking service to Hong Kong and Macau.

The agreements are favourable for Hunan's strategy of facilitating trade with the ASEAN, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

As Hunan is a hinterland province, 50 per cent of its trade cargo must be shipped via sea ports in the Pearl River Delta region, according to deputy governor of Hunan province Chen Zhaoxiong and the local shippers long for more convenient customs clearance procedures and cooperation with the coastal ports.