General

At a press conference held by the National Development and Reform Office, Li Xingqian, Director of the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the main contradiction in China's foreign trade sector has shifted from supply chain obstruction and insufficient contract fulfillment capacity in the previous two years to insufficient external demand and a decrease in foreign trade orders.

Currently, foreign trade companies are experiencing a severe decline in orders. In previous years, they had to take on spring orders at this time. Currently, spring orders have generally declined by over 40%. It can be foreseen that next year's foreign trade will inevitably experience negative growth, even with the rapid growth of our emerging industries, where traditional commodity exports will be halved.

The continuous progress of China has brought dividends to many trading companies and received many orders from abroad. However, who could have imagined that after the end of the Chinese New Year, the situation of foreign trade order loss will become more and more serious, and many people believe that the speed is a bit abrupt. Originally, we had a good discussion, but unexpectedly, after a year, foreign orders will suddenly be announced to be revoked, and even if a penalty is paid, it will be enforced, So, what is the reason that causes many companies to have worse profits and many people to lose their jobs?

In fact, some experts have predicted the loss of this order. In 2018, when the Sino US trade started, some people mentioned the relevant concept. By 2020, China advocates a new development pattern of dual circulation both domestically and internationally, ultimately focusing on domestic dual circulation. Therefore, there will be more and more domestic orders, and foreign orders may decrease. Many people do not take this prediction seriously, believing that foreigners will never be able to do without Chinese goods, especially when they first joined the WTO. Cross border e-commerce has become the most popular industry, and many people have become wealthy overnight. It is precisely because of the booming development at that time that many people are mocking the United States, which is digging their own grave.

By the second half of 2022, the export rate in the fourth quarter had already decreased compared to the same period, and the United States, which was mainly engaged in trade wars, did indeed suffer. At that time, all countries in the world were suffering from the epidemic, so the situation at home and abroad was not optimistic. Many countries even relaxed control in order to maintain their livelihoods. In order to receive more foreign trade orders, Chinese merchants take risks and come overseas to work. But this was actually an internal competition, and the orders that were determined to go could never be left behind. Therefore, the so-called finalization at that time was just the distribution of the originally ordered cakes. For example, orders from the north are taken away by coastal enterprises, while orders from the west are lost to the southeast region. In order to receive more orders from Southeast Asia, many companies have offered low prices, which means that subsequent costs will be compressed and workers will receive less money.

If it were a normal situation, workers would not allow this to happen. However, due to the current epidemic situation, it is not easy to keep a job, let alone find a high paying job. Therefore, even if the conditions proposed by the company are too strict, many people will still be willing to take on this job. Finally, they will marvel at the boss providing them with a position, so that they will not lose everything.

It is precisely for this reason that many enterprises have started to fall inward. Some large enterprises will try to maintain orders as much as possible after receiving the news. Although there is a significant year-on-year decrease, they will also try their best to bring orders to the company. Some small and micro enterprises do not have access to so much information, so they are closed and unable to transform and upgrade, resulting in a very difficult situation for the enterprise. Faced with such a market, many people are preparing to withdraw, while others are starting to transform. People believe that foreign trade orders will definitely rise again, because foreigners cannot do without Chinese products. However, the situation has already begun to change, and the situation of investing in exports to boost domestic demand may no longer be the case.