SAFE Guangdong Branch: Cross-Border Trade Facilitation Policies Boost Guangdong's Modern Services Sector

The Guangdong Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced that it has continued to expand and upgrade its high-level open pilot policy for cross-border trade, enabling compliant enterprises to enjoy more efficient foreign exchange settlement services.

According to the announcement, as of the end of April 2026, banks in the Guangdong jurisdiction (excluding Shenzhen) processed over 120,000 service trade pilot transactions totaling approximately USD 40 billion, with the policy's reach and influence continuing to grow.

A finance executive at a telecom company in Dongguan noted: "Through the cross-border trade high-level opening pilot policy, we processed nine service trade foreign exchange payment transactions in less than two hours, covering telecommunications services, R&D fees, and advertising expenses. The streamlined process has significantly improved our cross-border capital turnover efficiency."

The policy has been further upgraded to expand the scope of net settlement (netting) arrangements, now supporting net settlement between trade receivables and related freight, warehousing, maintenance, and compensation payments — effectively reducing currency conversion costs for enterprises.

Leveraging the cross-border financial service platform, SAFE Guangdong Branch also launched a new "service trade tax filing bank verification" application. Once enterprises complete the filing online, banks can verify it directly via the platform, enabling one-stop processing and significantly improving efficiency. As of end-April 2026, banks in the Guangdong jurisdiction have completed electronic verification for 22,000 institutions and individuals, facilitating USD 223.8 billion in compliant settlements.