General

Zhejiang Yiwu International Trade City is bustling with shops and crowds. On the shelves, there is a dazzling array of goods; Before the store, overseas merchants stop to consult. A set of statistical data highlights Yiwu's status as the "world capital of small commodities": it has trade relations with 233 countries and regions, with over 560000 overseas merchants coming to purchase every year, and has over 8000 foreign investment entities of various types.

Digitally empowered, Yiwu's open vitality continues to burst out.

This sock has a moderate thickness and is versatile, suitable for wear in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. "Fu Jiangyan runs a sock business at Yiwu International Trade City and broadcasts daily on the" Chinabooks "platform. Nowadays, more and more Yiwu factories are opening cross-border live streaming rooms on digital platforms to improve transaction efficiency.

As a digital trade comprehensive service platform created by Zhejiang China Small Commodity City Group Co., Ltd., "Chinabooks" has moved the commercial city online. Domestic and foreign merchants can quickly find the target products of physical stores through this platform. The platform also connects with 2.1 million small and micro enterprises in the physical stores and upstream of the industry chain in the market, and achieves iterative upgrading of market procurement and trade through digital linkage of transactions, performance, finance, regulation, and other links.

New formats such as service trade and cross-border e-commerce have flourished, becoming a new force for promoting high-quality development and expanding high-level opening up to the outside world. According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, in the past 5 years, the scale of cross-border e-commerce import and export in Zhejiang has increased by 8 times, with exports increasing by 41.6 times. Digitalization also endows foreign trade with stronger resilience. According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, from January to February this year, Zhejiang's export volume achieved through cross-border e-commerce platforms increased by 73.2% year-on-year, driving a 1.6 percentage point increase in Zhejiang's exports.

In the early morning at Yiwu West Station, accompanied by the sound of a whistle, a "Yixin Europe" China Europe train carrying Chinese small goods went to Madrid, Spain.

Before the opening of the China Europe Express, the company mainly imported goods from Spain by sea, which took 45 days. After the opening of the China Europe Express, the transportation time was shortened to 16 days at the earliest, "said Zhang Ruizhi, the exhibition hall manager of Zhejiang Mengde Import and Export Co., Ltd.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, in 2022, the import and export volume of the five Central Asian countries achieved through the "Yixin Europe" China Europe freight train increased by 17 times compared to 2013.

At the Meishan Port Area Container Terminal of Ningbo Zhoushan Port, giant ships are berthing, and remote bridge cranes and unmanned container trucks are busy and orderly loading and unloading goods. As the world's first major port with an annual cargo throughput of more than 1 billion tons, Ningbo Zhoushan Port currently has 122 "the Belt and Road" routes among nearly 300 routes connecting the world.

The options for new trade channels are constantly enriched, opening up a wider market and making the doors of opening more open. In 2022, Zhejiang's import and export of goods reached 4.68 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.1%, with both imports and exports reaching new historical highs.

From trade openness to institutional openness, the level of high-level opening up to the outside world continues to rise.

Now we can successfully process remittances to German customers within 10 minutes, which is both convenient and efficient! "Said Le Jianzhou, the person in charge of Ningbo Free Trade Zone Fanchikara Liquor Industry Co., Ltd. Previously, every time we made payments to overseas customers, we had to prepare trade contracts, invoices, customs declarations, and other documents in advance, and waiting for bank review also took a lot of time.

The new policy accelerates and enhances efficiency - high-quality enterprises included in the list no longer need to prepare materials in advance for cross-border payments, but only need to fill in transaction payment information through online banking, greatly improving efficiency. In 2022, Beilun District, Ningbo City launched 13 pilot policies for high-level opening-up, benefiting 274 enterprises and carrying out 52900 pilot businesses with a total amount of 33.848 billion US dollars.

Standing on the highland of Yushan Island in Zhoushan City, overlooking the green petrochemical base, there are numerous steel towers and winding pipelines, which are magnificent. The small island of the past is now a large-scale petrochemical base.

A bulk cargo ship from Australia is waiting to refuel at anchorage 3 outside Xiashimen in Zhoushan, with a refueling capacity of 1500 tons. During the refueling process, there is no need for personnel to move up and down, no contact with the fuel supply, and the procedures are convenient. A few hours later, the oiled vessel completed the departure procedures and sailed to the next port, as reported by Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation.

The continuously improving Zhejiang International Oil and Gas Trading Center is committed to enhancing China's ability to allocate resources and price influence for bulk commodities mainly focused on oil and gas; The continuously optimized digital port business environment for ship clearance has shortened the clearance time from 16 hours to 2 hours... In recent years, the Zhoushan area of the Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone has focused on the entire oil and gas industry chain and promoted the liberalization and facilitation of bulk commodity investment and trade through institutional innovation.

At present, the Zhoushan area of the Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone has accumulated over 10000 oil and gas enterprises, forming a trillion yuan level oil and gas industry pattern.

According to the relevant person in charge of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce, Zhejiang's export structure continues to optimize, with the export proportion of mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products increasing to 44.7% and 10.1% respectively in 2022; The foreign investment structure has been continuously optimized. As of the end of last year, the province has approved a total of 77000 foreign-invested enterprises, and the actual proportion of foreign investment in high-tech industries has increased to 48.2%; The layout of external investment continues to be optimized, covering 152 countries and regions. Huacheng's import and export data observation report.

Accelerate the construction of a high-energy level open province, and the pattern of high-level opening up in Zhejiang is accelerating.