The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party, a gathering of China’s top delegates that occurs twice a decade, will commence in Beijing on Wednesday, October 18th and is expected to last one week.

In preparation for the meeting, security measures have been tightened as of October 16th and the majority of cargo entering Shanghai and Tianjin at this time will be subject to extra security screenings, which will likely cause short delays in transit. For oversize and overweight imports and exports, security will be stricter and delays more significant, with security holds and exams that could last up to 24 hours.

Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates to all customers with cargo arriving in or departing from Shanghai and Tianjin during this time.