Customs Facilitation and Export Efficiency of Emerging Industries in Yibin’s Cross-Border E-Commerce Pilot Zone: A Policy Mechanism Analysis

Cross-border e-commerce has become an important pathway for inland cities to participate in international trade and transform local industrial advantages into export competitiveness. In China, cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones provide institutional space for customs supervision innovation, logistics coordination, digital trade development, and trade facilitation. Taking Yibin in Sichuan Province as a regional case, this paper examines how customs facilitation mechanisms support the export efficiency of emerging industries within the framework of a cross-border e-commerce pilot zone. Yibin’s “Blue and Green” industries mainly refer to the digital economy and green new energy sectors, including digital services, power batteries, and photovoltaic-related industries, which have grown substantially in recent years — with the power battery sector reaching RMB 88.9 billion in output and the digital economy sectors generating over RMB 54 billion in 2022. These sectors are characterized by high technical content, complex supply chains, strict delivery requirements, and stronger compliance needs. Drawing on national policy documents, international organization frameworks, academic literature, and regional industrial materials, this paper develops a mechanism framework consisting of four dimensions: time efficiency, cost reduction, coordination efficiency, and compliance stability. The analysis suggests that customs facilitation does not merely accelerate customs clearance; it also reduces institutional transaction costs, strengthens multi-actor coordination, improves regulatory predictability, and supports firms’ participation in cross-border trade. The paper further identifies practical challenges related to regulatory mode matching, fragmented use of facilitation tools, logistics coordination, and enterprise compliance capacity. It proposes policy recommendations for establishing an industry–regulatory mode matching mechanism, integrating trade facilitation tools, strengthening front-end compliance guidance, and improving multi-actor coordination. The study contributes to understanding how inland pilot zones can use customs facilitation to support emerging industry exports and enhance regional export competitiveness.

Cross-Border E-Commerce; Customs Facilitation; Trade Facilitation; Export Efficiency; Emerging Industries

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