China and New Zealand announced Tuesday a customs agreement on mutual Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status to be implemented on July 1.

The agreement will further boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

Under the agreement, companies that obtain the AEO status in the two countries will enjoy simplified customs procedures, such as reduced examination or prioritized clearance, when they export products to the other country.

After the agreement becomes operational, the customs clearance time is expected to be halved, which will help reduce logistics costs.

China and New Zealand signed the AEO agreement in March. About 4,000 Chinese companies have been given AEO status.

According to the World Customs Organization (WCO), an AEO is an organization or company involved in the international movement of goods that has been certified by, or on behalf of, a national customs administration and complies with WCO or equivalent supply chain security standards.

China has signed mutual AEO agreements with Singapore, the Republic of Korea, the European Union, Switzerland, New Zealand and Hong Kong region.

China and New Zealand are each other's major trading partners. The bilateral trade volume reached nearly 40 billion yuan (5.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the first five months of 2017, an increase of 26.4 percent year on year.

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