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Washington, D.C.— Today, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner and Mu Xinsheng, Minister of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, announced that the port of Shenzhen will be the 37th operational port to join the Container Security Initiative (CSI), targeting and pre-screening maritime cargo containers destined for U.S. ports.

“The Container Security Initiative is the only formal program in operation today that is designed to detect and deter terrorists from exploiting the vulnerabilities of containerized maritime cargo. Due to the continued support of CSI by Minister Mu Xinsheng, U.S. borders are more secure and more efficient,” said Commissioner Bonner. “CSI is critical to securing global trade against terrorist exploitation. The CSI security blanket is now expanding and strengthening as it encompasses the port of Shenzhen.”

Mu Xinsheng, Minister of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, expressed in a written statement that “the Chinese government firmly opposes and condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and actively takes actions to prevent and combat all terrorist activities.”

Under the Container Security Initiative, CBP has entered into bilateral partnerships to identify high-risk cargo containers before they are loaded on vessels destined for the United States. Today, a total of 23 administrations have committed to join CSI and are at various stages of implementation.

On October 25, 2002, President George W. Bush and former President Jiang Zemin reached a consensus to join the Container Security Initiative in principle.

On July 29, 2003, Commissioner Bonner and Minister Mu signed a declaration of principles on CSI to target and pre-screen cargo containers from the ports of Shanghai and Shenzhen destined for U.S. ports.

CBP will deploy a team of officers to be stationed at the port of Shenzhen to target maritime containers destined for the United States. Shenzhen Customs officials, working with CBP officers, will be responsible for screening any containers identified as a potential terrorist risk.

Before 9/11 CSI did not exist. It was proposed and launched by Commissioner Bonner in January 2002 as a means to protect the global trade lanes against potential terrorist exploitation. CSI has been accepted globally as a bold and revolutionary initiative to help secure maritime cargo shipments against the terrorist threat.

Currently, there are 37 operational CSI ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North America which include: Halifax, Montreal, Vancouver, Rotterdam, Le Havre, Marseille, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Singapore, Yokohama, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, Hong Kong, Göteborg, Felixstowe, Liverpool, Southampton, Thamesport, Tilbury, Genoa, La Spezia, Naples, Gioia Tauro, Livorno, Busan, Durban, Port Klang, Tanjung Pelepas, Piraeus, Algeciras, Laem Chabang, Dubai, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

“I am pleased to see that the Container Security Initiative has been expanded to include the port of Shenzhen. I anticipate continuing the strong cooperative relationship in combating terrorism that has developed between the United States and China,” said Clark T. Randt, Jr., the U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.

CSI will continue to expand to strategic locations around the world. The World Customs Organization (WCO), the European Union (EU), and the G8 support CSI expansion and have adopted resolutions implementing CSI security measures introduced at ports throughout the world.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.