On March 11, Vice Minister Sun Yibiao, entrusted by Minister Yu Guangzhou, closed the Seminar on China-Africa Customs Modernization with an address in Shanghai. Forty-eight top and senior officials from 12 African countries and regions attended the closing ceremony.

Vice Minister Sun started by extending gratitude to the African delegations, on behalf of Minister Yu, for their participation and remarkable contribution to this seminar, reviewed and gave credit for the exchange and mutual learning between China and African participants during the seminar. He pointed out that the needs and visions for future cooperation raised by African delegations are of great importance to China customs, and this seminar would mark the beginning for closer and more pragmatic cooperation between China and African Customs. He then put forward a five-point proposal for Customs cooperation. He called on Customs administrations present at the seminar to contribute to closer capacity building cooperation, to explore good ways to offer aid, to deepen mutual assistance in enforcement within the framework of the Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance agreements, to look into the possibility of mutual exchange of information, and to realize mutual recognition of controls to further facilitate trade.