The Strategic Trade Control Enforcement (STCE) Programme delivered a Virtual national training addressed to the China Customs Administration between 18 and 22 October 2021, which was attended by over 60 customs officers.

In preparation for the workshop, the STCE Programme, thanks to the support of its donor Global Affairs Canada, had translated the curriculum and the STCE Implementation Guide into the Chinese language, in order to provide participants with useful documents and tools for their daily work in strategic trade control.

At the start of the training, the Director of the Department of General Operation of the General Administration of Customs (GACC) and the Director of the China Customs Radiation Detection Training Center delivered welcome remarks, thanking the WCO for its efforts and support to its members and highlighting the importance of building capacities and strengthening the role of customs in the fight against the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and related items.

Together with the WCO STCE Programme Coordinator and two STCE accredited Experts Trainers from Thailand and Vietnam Customs, the workshop was supported by presenters from the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the UN 1540 Committee, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the US Department of Energy (US DoE). Thanks to the importance the STCE team gives to International cooperation and the consequent fructuous collaboration with different Agencies dealing with Security issues, the participants had the opportunity to be provided with specialized knowledge and a deep understanding of strategic goods and the international legal framework and regimes to which trade should comply.

The WCO hopes to resume live events shortly, but in the meantime it also acknowledges the opportunities provided by the online conference tools, where experts from International Organizations and WCO Members around the world can easily meet and share knowledge and good practices, and utilize them when possible.