The Zhoushan archipelago is an important maritime gateway between China and the rest of the world. It's comprised of 1,390 islands. And with its strategic location off the coast of eastern China's Zhejiang province, it's easy for ships to sail in and out. Recently, officials there launched a pilot reform program aimed at improving shipping efficiency, with great success. CGTN's Xu Mengqi explains how Zhoushan is becoming a model for ports around the country.

It's another busy morning at Zhoushan port. Staff from a local shipping company are unloading a giant freighter that arrived from Australia the night before: Johanna. It brought with it 170,000 tons of iron ore.

JIANG TAO, SHIPPING DEPARTMENT MANAGER CHINA OCEAN SHIPPING AGENCY, ZHOUSHAN "Here we basically have two ships arriving and two leaving every day. They are all foreign ships."

Zhoushan's geological position makes it ideal for international trade. Situated at the crossroads of China's inland waterway and coastal shipping routes, it imports tens of millions of crude oil and iron ore annually. But for every ship coming in, there is a critical step: getting permission from Chinese authorities.

CHEN XINJIAN, HEAD 1ST SUPERVISION AND INSPECTION DEPARTMENT, ZHOUSHAN CUSTOMS "When a ship enters Zhoushan port, its crew needs to report all the information about the cargo they're carrying and the crew members on board. Previously companies needed to come here and submit paper documents for our verification, but now this is all done online."

The process used to be time-consuming and difficult. Not only did ships have to physically report to multiple authorities including the Maritime Safety Administration, customs and immigration inspectors, but on many occasions the required documents simply overlapped.

XU MENGQI ZHOUSHAN "To create a better business environment for international trade, in May of this year the port at Zhoushan started a reform program that streamlines approval procedures for ships coming in and out of China. That, according to port administration authorities, has greatly improved shipping efficiency."

WANG XIAOCHUN ZHOUSHAN PORT MANAGEMENT OFFICE "Except for visas and temporary entry permits for crew members, all other necessary documents can now be submitted just once through a single online window. It reduces the clearance time from 16 hours to just 2 hours."

For shipping agencies, fewer formalities translate into direct economic benefits.

JIANG TAO, SHIPPING DEPARTMENT MANAGER CHINA OCEAN SHIPPING AGENCY, ZHOUSHAN "Some of the docks are located in quite remote areas and commuting back and forth takes about four to five hours. With the new policy we can now save a lot of time that was once wasted during the processes of just delivering the documents, and now our ships can depart as soon as they finish unloading."

So the iron ore that Johanna brought with it, will also reach its destination in inland China faster, ultimately facilitating international trade. And Chinese officials say the reform initiated by Zhoushan port will apply to all ports across the country, starting January 1st, next year. XMQ, CGTN, Zhoushan, Zhejiang province.