CUSTOMS officers from Guangdong Province seized over 2.2 million suspected infringing goods and items from 2,825 batches in three special operations in cooperation with their counterparts from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions last month. The joint operations have dealt a heavy blow to the cross-border infringement and related illegal activities, contributing to the protection of intellectual property rights, said a statement released by Guangdong Customs on Friday. Customs departments in Guangdong, the southern gateway of the country, have strengthened their inspection and supervision of high-risk infringing goods that were shipped to/from Hong Kong and Macao, North America, Europe and the countries involved in the country’s Belt and Road Initiative at various foreign trade ports during the operation periods, said the statement. “These products and items included food and drugs, tobacco products, clothing, shoes and hats, leather goods, bags, children’s toys, electronic products and personal care products,” the statement said. Priorities have been given to strengthening the fight against the “fragmentation” infringement of postal parcels, express mail and cross-border e-commerce goods, leading to the seizure of a large number of infringing export goods, such as mobile phones, shoes, clothing, bags and cosmetics, according to the statement. Customs departments from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have reached a consensus on further strengthening cross-border cooperation, continuing to launch joint law enforcement actions to combat import and export infringement and related illegal activities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in a joint conference held last September, it added.(China Daily) | 