China is responding in its own way to the unilateralism and trade protectionism that are rampant all over the world.
The Chinese government website announced on the 12th that Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, China, recently hosted a the State Council executive meeting, demanding greater opening-up and promoting diversified development of imports and exports. The meeting pointed out that taking enterprises as the main body and expanding diversified international markets are conducive to promoting the steady improvement of foreign trade and the smooth operation of the economy.
Simply put, we want to "sell globally" and "buy globally".
"global selling"
According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs, China’s exports to major trading partners such as the European Union, ASEAN and Japan all increased steadily in the first five months of this year, with the export growth rate to the EU and ASEAN exceeding 10%; The trade volume with countries along the "Belt and Road" is also growing.
The figures will not deceive people, which shows that the market diversification of foreign trade enterprises in China is constantly advancing, and their ability to resist pressure and toughness is enhanced. Especially in the context of the current Sino-US trade friction, it has provided support for the steady development of China’s foreign trade.
Wang Xiaosong, a researcher at the National Development and Strategy Institute of Renmin University of China, told China News Service that China is a through train. Since the beginning of this year, the proportion of China’s exports to the EU has exceeded that to the United States, and the overall export situation is stable, which means that China’s exporters have opened up a wider market and the export diversification strategy has been gradually implemented.
Wang Xiaosong further pointed out that in the past, many enterprises relied too much on the United States and other single markets, believing that their markets were stable and their export profits were rich. However, in the current trade environment, the stability of the relevant market is no longer, which requires enterprises to adjust their business strategies. "If we can open up a broader export market, we can successfully cross this hurdle."
Talking about the diversified development direction, Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce of China, believes that from the perspective of spatial breadth, China is actively adjusting the layout of the international market and expanding the third-country market and the national markets along the Belt and Road Initiative. From a high point of view, foreign trade enterprises should accelerate transformation and upgrading, open up more new fields, and cultivate and create new advantages in international trade competition.
"global buy"
While bringing the gold-lettered signboard "Made in China" to all parts of the world, China has also opened its doors to welcome all kinds of high-quality imported goods and services.
In fact, imported goods are now closely embedded in the daily life of China people. Avocado in the United States, cherries in Chile, red shrimp in Argentina … There are all kinds of delicious food from afar on the table; French perfume, Japanese cosmeceuticals, Korean masks … The bottles and jars on the dresser are printed with all kinds of words. So that some netizens in China laughed and said that if all foreign goods at home were taken away, "it would be at least half empty".
The strong import expansion policy has also provided conditions for a large increase in imports. In the past year, China’s import tariffs have been lowered many times, involving thousands of tax items such as medicines, complete vehicles and parts, consumer goods, mechanical and electrical equipment; The import clearance time was reduced by nearly half compared with the previous year. In the words of Li Kuiwen, spokesman of the General Administration of Customs of China, a series of policies and measures such as actively expanding imports have effectively stimulated the import vitality of enterprises.
Let’s look at another set of figures: from 2017 to 2018, the import volume of China increased by more than 200 billion US dollars, which is close to the total import volume of Switzerland in one year!
"In international trade, export is only a means, and import is the purpose," said Su Qingyi, an associate researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of China Academy of Social Sciences. Only when export is finally reflected in import can it really play a role in improving welfare. Expanding China’s imports will not only enhance the welfare of consumers, but also make the economic and trade development more balanced and full.
Zhao Ping, director of the International Trade Research Department of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, pointed out that expanding the import of featured high-quality goods and services and enriching domestic consumption choices not only conforms to the current consumption upgrading trend in China, but also accelerates the pace of consumption structure upgrading. At the same time, by expanding imports, China will assume more responsibilities as a big country, and it will also allow the world to share its own development dividend.
How to do it?
To promote the diversification of imports and exports, the meeting proposed a number of measures, including actively promoting the signing of high-standard free trade agreements and regional trade agreements with more countries. Study and expand the comprehensive experimental area in cross-border electronic commerce. Encourage enterprises to improve the international marketing network and promote the export of products that meet the needs of the international market. Actively increase imports. Promote a balanced, stable and healthy development of imports and exports.
It is worth mentioning that at present, China is accelerating the construction of a high-standard free trade zone network based on the surrounding areas, radiating the "Belt and Road" and facing the world. At present, China has signed free trade agreements with more than ten economies along the Belt and Road, such as ASEAN, Singapore and Pakistan, and is actively promoting the negotiation of regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement (RCEP) and free trade agreements with Israel, Sri Lanka and other countries.
Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce, recently revealed that this year China will continue to accelerate the construction of a free trade zone and actively play the role of a free trade agreement; Support enterprises to explore diversified markets and increase the import and export of goods and services on a larger scale.
At the same time, taking the development of cross-border e-commerce as a breakthrough to promote the liberalization, facilitation and innovation of international trade is of great significance for accelerating the transformation of foreign trade development mode and enhancing comprehensive competitiveness.
Since the State Council approved the establishment of cross-border electronic commerce Comprehensive Experimental Zone in 2015, relevant regions have tried first in terms of technical standards, business processes and supervision modes, forming a series of good experiences and practices, and the import and export scale of the comprehensive experimental zone has increased rapidly.
Experts said that this move will help increase the import of foreign competitive products, encourage enterprises to speed up the construction of "overseas warehouses" and global marketing networks, build well-known brands of cross-border e-commerce, actively explore diversified markets, promote the stable development of foreign trade, and improve international competitiveness. (Wang Enbo)
