General

On July 12, the Information Office of the State Council held a regular briefing on the State Council’s policies to introduce the "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Accelerating the Development of New Forms and New Models of Foreign Trade" released recently. Assistant Minister of Commerce Ren Hongbin said at the press conference that looking forward to the trend of foreign trade throughout the year, foreign trade development faces opportunities and challenges, but the opportunities outweigh the challenges. "We are confident that through the solid and vigorous work of the national foreign trade system, we will achieve the goal of steady growth in volume and quality throughout the year."

Ren Hongbin said that at present, the number of people diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia every day in the world has dropped to more than 400,000, and the recovery of world economy and trade has accelerated. In June, the World Bank predicted that the global economy will grow by 5.6% this year, 1.6 percentage points higher than the forecast at the beginning of the year. A recent questionnaire survey by the Ministry of Commerce shows that about 40% of foreign trade companies’ newly signed export orders have increased year-on-year, indicating that external demand has shown signs of improvement and corporate competitiveness has increased.

At the same time, Ren Hongbin said that we must also see that China's foreign trade development situation is still complicated. From an international perspective, the global epidemic situation is still severe, economic recovery is uncertain, industrial chain supply chain risks have increased, and trade issues have become more politicized. From a domestic perspective, foreign trade companies face four major difficulties. One is the low efficiency and high prices of international shipping; the second is the increased fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate, and the phenomenon of "not daring to accept orders and unprofitable exports" has appeared; and the third is raw materials. Rising prices have increased the cost of enterprises; fourthly, recruitment is difficult and expensive in some areas.

"In the next step, we will closely follow the changes in the domestic and foreign situation, and research and propose policies and measures in response to the outstanding difficulties faced by foreign trade enterprises." Ren Hongbin said that the Ministry of Commerce will mainly take measures from four aspects: First, strengthen international economic and trade cooperation and build Participate in global economic governance, promote multi- and bilateral regional rule negotiations, build a high-standard free trade zone network, and carefully prepare for the fourth China International Import Expo, so that global companies can share China’s development opportunities. The second is to promote the construction of the “Belt and Road” with high quality, steadily expand the Silk Road e-commerce partner countries, successfully host the 130th Canton Fair, and promote market diversification. The third is to accelerate the development of new forms and models of foreign trade, and cultivate new momentum for foreign trade. The fourth is to develop high-quality and innovative foreign trade industrial clusters to promote trade and industrial integration.

At the same time, Ren Hongbin said that in the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will conscientiously implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, work closely with relevant departments and units, strengthen research and judgment of the situation, and introduce targeted policies. To help enterprises alleviate their difficulties, the focus will be on the following five aspects: First, implement and improve support policies. The second is to promote the innovative development of foreign trade. The third is to promote high-level opening up. The fourth is to stabilize the supply chain of the industrial chain of foreign trade and foreign investment. The fifth is to promote the liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment.