General

In response to the situation of helping enterprises stabilize orders and expand the market, Wang Shouwen, the representative and deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce for international trade negotiations, said at the press conference of the National Development Office today: Since the beginning of this year, foreign trade enterprises have seen significant growth in their demand for trade promotion and coordination with suppliers and purchasers. Therefore, the Ministry of Commerce, relevant departments, and local governments have carried out a series of work to provide some support and guarantees for foreign trade enterprises, including visa application, air ticket processing, and participation in exhibitions, enabling enterprises to explore international trade markets domestically or abroad and strive for orders

Wang Shouwen introduced that there are four main areas of work that have been done and the next steps to be carried out in helping enterprises stabilize orders and expand the market.

Firstly, organize a series of exhibitions such as the Canton Fair. The offline exhibition of the 133rd Canton Fair is currently underway, and the second phase has also begun. The Canton Fair features numerous highlights, an increase in the number of booths, and new content in the exhibits. Exhibitors are very enthusiastic, combining online and offline exhibitions to promote each other, and the results are very good. The Canton Fair also held some professional international trade forums covering specific fields, which were welcomed by exhibitors and buyers. In the first quarter, the Ministry of Commerce registered or approved 186 various exhibitions, helping enterprises to connect supply and procurement.

Secondly, facilitate the exchange of business personnel. Business personnel need to go abroad, or foreign guests need to come to China for supply and procurement docking. Currently, there are relatively few international flights and ticket prices are relatively expensive. The civil aviation department actively supports this and has taken a series of measures. Now, the recovery rate of China's international flights has reached nearly 30% compared to before the epidemic, and efforts are still being made to fully utilize these flights. For the difficulties encountered in visa application, enterprises need to go to overseas international trade markets and apply for a visa, or foreign guests need to come to China and also need to apply for a Chinese visa. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant departments are promoting relevant countries to provide convenience for enterprises to apply for visas, and also to facilitate foreign enterprises to apply for visas in China. It is particularly worth mentioning that support has been provided for the practice of replacing visas with APEC business travel cards, and virtual visa cards will be allowed to enter China on May 1st. At the same time, relevant domestic departments are further studying and optimizing remote detection measures to provide convenience for business personnel to visit China.

Thirdly, continue to deepen trade innovation. E-commerce is different from traditional trade methods. It is conducted online, breaking through time constraints, allowing transactions to be made 24 hours a day, and also breaking through space limitations. It allows foreign buyers to come to China for procurement without leaving their homes, which helps Chinese suppliers sell to various parts of the world through e-commerce without leaving their homes. In China, cross-border e-commerce has developed well and is very popular among enterprises. It reduces transaction costs, helps enterprises establish their own brands and sales channels, and improves their overall competitiveness. The Ministry of Commerce is preparing to solidly promote the construction of a comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zone, carry out brand training, rule and standard construction, and high-quality development of overseas warehouses. We are also preparing to hold an on-site meeting of the cross-border e-commerce comprehensive demonstration zone to promote some good practices in cross-border e-commerce.

Fourthly, support enterprises in exploring diversified markets. The Ministry of Commerce will issue national trade guidelines, and each country will develop a trade promotion guide for key markets. We will also make good use of the trade facilitation working group mechanism under the "the Belt and Road" established with many countries to promote the solution of the difficulties Chinese enterprises encounter in opening up international trade markets in countries along the "the Belt and Road" and increase opportunities for enterprises. In this regard, embassies, consulates and business institutions stationed abroad will provide convenience and services for enterprises, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises to develop the "the Belt and Road" market, and provide support and convenience.