Businesses are importing textiles, machinery, metals, chemicals, plastics, furniture items and prefabricated buildings to France from China.
You can also do a profitable shipping from China to France if you follow what we have explained in this article. You will be able to earn good margins by getting products from China at cheap prices and selling them at higher costs in France.
Process of Shipping From China To France
Here is the step-by-step guide for importing goods from China to France.
1. Prepare Your Shipment in China
If you want to ship your products to France, the first thing to be concerned about is the product. Your product must comply with the French regulations. It should not fall into the category of prohibited items. When your products are manufactured in a Chinese factory, you have to do proper packaging.
The packaging material must be sturdy. It should be customized according to the dimensions of your items. Additionally, label your packages with the Chinese origin, final French location, shipment weight, and the number of items.
2. Send Cargo To the Chinese Exporting Site
Secondly, you need to send your cargo to the seaport, airport, or rail station in China. In this step, you have to select one of the shipping methods that fulfill your needs. You can also discuss this with us. We will suggest the best mode to ship from China to France based on your cargo and budget.
After that, choose the nearest port in China from the manufacturing factory. You need to hire a local carrier to move your goods to the export site. Or, you can also hire a freight forwarder like us for door-to-door delivery. We will pick up your goods from the manufactured site, store them free of cost in our warehouse and transport them to the Chinese port.
3. Customs Handling In China
Now, your items are inspected by customs authorities in China. Here you have to submit some necessary documents (list is provided at the end of this article) to these authorities. You also have to pay export tariffs and some other taxes to the Chinese customs for successful shipment to France.
Your freight forwarder will handle this entire process for you. We also do customs and prepare documents to submit them. We can assist you in this matter without complicating anything.
4. Shipment Tracking From China To France
When your goods are released from customs, your shipping agent will finally load them onto the vessel. After this step, the journey of your products to import from China to France starts.
Then you can track the live location of your shipment until it reaches the destination port in France. For example, you have chosen the sea freight method and it will take around 25 days to ship products to France.
But during all these days, you will be given access to a software by us through which you can see your cargo covering the distance from Chinese oceans to French oceans.
5. Import Customs Clearance in France
The customs authority of France port will charge up to 20% VAT on the imported goods. It may vary according to the category of your product. You have to clear this and some other taxes if you really want to import your items from China.
They also require some documents for import clearance. Don’t worry, we have written about them too in the last of this guide.
6. From France Port To Your Storehouse
Lastly, you can transport your cargo from the imported site of France to your storage location. It may be your general store, Amazon, or Walmart warehouse. We can also deliver your items wherever you want.
Shipping Methods From China To France
There are following methods to import goods to France from Chinese cities.
1. Air Shipping
This method is used for perishable and expensive items. The goods you want to import to France from China must be less than 500 kg because of airline restrictions. It is more costly than sea and rail freight. However, its benefit is it can deliver your package at France airport within a week.
The following airports in China and France are primarily utilized for shipping purposes.
China Airports
- Shanghai Pudong International Airport
- Hong Kong International Airport
- Beijing Capital International Airport
- Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport
- Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
- Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport
- Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
France Airports
- Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport
- Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport
- Paris Charles de Gaulle
- Beauvais Tille Airport
- Paris Orly Airport
- Bordeaux Merignac Airport
2. Rail Freight
You can ship any type of product through rail freight to your France location. You can also transport refrigerated items through this mode of shipping. It is faster than ocean freight and takes 15 to 25 days to reach your product at its destination.
You can book a whole container from China or take a shared space. However, you can also pay according to the per kg price ($2-$3 per kg).
The following are the railway stations of China to ship to France.
China Railway Stations
These are the points where the rail stations in China are located:
- Shanghai
- Qingdao
- Shenzhen
- Ningbo
- Xian
France Railway Stations
Rail stations in France used for importing cargo from China are:
- Lyon
- Paris
- Marseille
- Nice
3. Ocean Shipping
The heaviest items can be imported to France from China ports through ocean freight. You can transport heavy machinery, electric vehicles, liquid bulk, and any type of cargo. And the best thing is its low price. However, its drawback is the time (sometimes more than a month) it takes to ship cargo from China to France.
The following are the primary seaports of China to ship goods to France.
China Seaports
- Shanghai Port is the world’s busiest seaport, mainly used for containers.
- Qingdao Port consists of 4 port areas, largely used for oil shipping.
- Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is among the largest ports in China. It can handle cargo of over 888.96 million tons.
Additionally, other seaports in China utilized for importing goods to France are:
- Xiamen Port
- Shenzhen Port
- Port of Dalian
- Port of Tianjin
France Seaports
- Marseille Port is the main seaport of France. It can accommodate cargo of over 79 million tonnes.
- Le Havre Port occupies a 10,000 hectares area. It is positioned as the 2nd largest seaport in France.
- Dunkirk Port deals with all types of goods. It can accommodate the largest vessels at its terminals.
Moreover, some other ports of France used for shipping from China include:
- Port of Deauville
- Port of Calais
- Port of Lyon
- Port of Brest
- Port of Trouville-sur-Mer
- Port of La Pallice
- Port of Gennevilliers
4. Expedited Delivery From China to France
It is faster than air freight and usually takes 1 to 3 business days to deliver your package to any city in France. Therefore, express or expedited delivery is more expensive than all the other modes of shipping.
Here, the same limitations of air freight are applied to your package. The following are the best courier companies in France and China for express delivery:
- Federal Express Corporation
- DHL Group
- UPS
- Express Mail Service
- Thomas Nationwide Transport
Shipping Cost From China To France
The estimated price to ship from China to France is different for different modes of shipping. Because it depends on the speed of delivery. The earlier you get your goods in French cities, the more it will cost you.
Moreover, there is a weight limit for air and express shipping. Therefore, you have to choose wisely in order to stay within budget and ship your cargo to your desired French location from China.
| Shipping Method | Shipping Price |
| Air Freight | $3 to $6 per kg |
| Ocean Freight – LCL | $15 to $25 per cubic meter |
| Ocean Freight – FCL |
|
| Rail Freight | $8000 – $12000 per container |
| Express Shipping | $7 to $9 per kg |
In addition to freight costs, there are some additional variable charges. These include
- Fuel surcharge
- Freight forwarders fees
- Port handling fees
- Insurance cost
- Customs fees
- VAT (20%)
- Import/Export Duties (it ranges from zero to 17%, changes with product category)
For example; the duty rate for machinery is 2.7%, 2.5% for electronics, and 4.7% for toys. Furthermore, it is 12% for textile products.
How Long Does It Take To Ship From China To France?
The transit time from China to France varies with weather circumstances. It also depends on your chosen method of shipping. So, if you have to ship bulky items and there is no hurry then ocean shipping is the best way to France.
If you have lighter items like documents or parcels and money is not a problem then air freight from China will be ideal for you. However, if you want critical deliveries like last-minute orders then express shipping is made for you.
Rail freight from Chinese to French cities is intermediate between ocean and air shipping. Therefore, it does not take much time like sea shipping but does not give you as early as air freight. In addition, its cost is not as high as air freight and as low as ocean freight. So, pick the right shipping mode based on your time and budget.
| Shipping Method | Transit Time |
| Air Freight | 3 to 7 days |
| Ocean Freight | 25 to 40 days |
| Rail Freight | 15 to 25 days |
| Express Shipping | 1 to 3 days |
If we talk specifically about our ocean shipping duration from different Chinese seaports to France, it is as follows. In fact this is the average time of shipping from China to France but we always try our best to deliver products at your French port in the minimum possible time.
| Loading Port in China | Arrival Port in France | Expected Transit Time |
| Qingdao | Le Havre | 33 days |
| Shenzhen | Le Havre | 24 days |
| Tianjin | Le Havre | 39 days |
| Shanghai | Le Havre | 28 days |
| Ningbo | Le Havre | 29 days |
| Xiamen | Le Havre | 26 days |
Restricted Goods To Ship To France From China
The following goods are restricted to ship from China to France. So, you must be aware of these things before transporting your cargo. Moreover, some products might need a license or certification for importing them to France.
Restricted Goods
Although you can import these products from China to France. But, for this purpose you will require additional documentation.
- Gold artifacts ( gold coins or jewelry greater than 500 grams)
- Plants and their seeds
- Honeybees and their honey
- Medicinal products
- Tobacco
- Packaged food
- Perishable products
Prohibited Goods
The following prohibited items are not acceptable in France in any situation.
- Cigarette Lighters (specifically butane gas)
- Biological lab materials like infectious culture growths
- Saccharine (artificial sweetener)
- Jewelry having pearls made of lead salt
- Ash containers
- Falsely claimed goods
- Human remains
- Alive animals and plants
- Radioactive substances
- Firearms and bullets
- Currency notes
Required Documents To Import Goods From China To France
Here are the documents to submit to customs in China and France. These are necessary for exporting your goods from China and importing them to France. Otherwise, your shipment can be delayed if you do not prepare these on time and pay negligence to them.
- Commercial Invoice – receipt of goods
- Bill of Lading – a legal contract between freight forwarder and carrier
- Certificate of Origin – license of origin country
- Packing List – information of cargo, its weight, dimensions, and number of packages
- Insurance certificate – to ensure the safety of cargo
- Letter of credit – financial statement
- Import and Export license
- EORI number – necessary for shipping in Europe
- & Single Administrative Document
Conclusion
You can contact Bansar to get door to door, door to port, port to port and port to door shipping from China to France. We have been exporting and importing in these two countries since 2010. Our expert freight forwarding team will handle customs clearance, select the best route and shipping method for you and finally ship your cargo to France from China.
