Four enterprises from North China's Shanxi province attended the 6th WCO Global Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Conference, which was held in Shenzhen, a port city in South China's Guangdong province, from May 8 to 10.

The four AEO enterprises include Foxconn Precision Electronics (Taiyuan) Co, Shanxi Coking Coal Group International Trade Co, Shanxi Bright Kaolin Technology Corp Ltd, and Shanxi Huaxiang Group Co.

The Global AEO Conference was hosted by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and represents the highest-level global event in the AEO field. Since its establishment in 2012, the conference has been hosted in South Korea, Spain, Mexico, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates. This year's edition marked the first time that the conference was held in China.

Under the theme of "harnessing the power of AEO programmes for inclusive and sustainable global trade", the conference attracted representatives from over 100 countries and regions, including members of the WCO, business communities, and academia. The attendees were engaged in discussions and exchanges on 14 topics.

By being certified as an AEO enterprise, a company can get the highest credit rating given by customs, and enjoy clearance convenience to the upmost extent through mutual AEO recognition among customs departments of various countries (regions).

From this year, Taiyuan Customs will prioritize nurturing AEO enterprises to optimize its business environment. Currently, Shanxi boasts 23 AEO enterprises in total. These companies had achieved a foreign trade value of 33.33 billion yuan ($4.61 billion) in the first quarter of this year, accounting for 72.6 percent of the province's total.