General

The Report on Export Trade (B2B) Index of SMEs in the First Three Quarters of 2022 jointly released by the Commerce Industry Committee of CCPIT and XTransfer on November 9 shows that in the first three quarters of 2022, the collection amount of China's SMEs in international trade increased by 12.8% year on year, slightly higher than the 12.5% growth rate of the national export amount released by the General Administration of Customs. China's international trade increased steadily in the first three quarters in a complex environment; At the same time, the collection volume of small, medium and micro foreign trade enterprises in China has been growing, and the competitiveness of enterprises has been steadily improved.

The report pointed out that since this year, global economic growth has slowed down, and inflationary pressures in some economies have further intensified; The COVID-19 continued to invade and affected many key foreign trade cities in China; The constant changes in the international situation and the intensification of exchange rate fluctuations have further triggered a decline in demand and brought risks and challenges to foreign trade exports. However, there are also many favorable factors to support China's foreign trade to withstand the pressure and achieve steady growth.

Foreign trade exports are expected to achieve new breakthroughs

The "Leading Index of China's Foreign Trade Exports in the First Three Quarters of 2022" included in the above report shows that in the first three quarters, the index has increased compared with the same period in 2021, showing the resilience and flexibility of China's small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises in the face of external pressure. In the fourth quarter, although there were still many uncertainties in the external environment, it was also conducive to the sustained implementation of enterprise rescue policies, and international trade enterprises improved their resilience through digital means and other favorable factors to support the high-quality development of foreign trade exports. Considering that the fourth quarter is the global seasonal peak consumption season, the report predicts that China's foreign trade exports are expected to continue to achieve new breakthroughs in this period.

According to the above report, under the severe and complex foreign trade environment, China's small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises not only made a smooth start in the first quarter, but also quickly reversed the downward trend of the index caused by the frequent outbreaks of epidemic diseases in the second half of the second quarter. In the third quarter, under the influence of inflation, currency depreciation and many other factors, overseas demand slowed down. In addition, July and August were during the summer holidays in Europe, the United States and other major export destinations in China. The relevant indexes fluctuated, but compared with the same period last year, they still showed a positive growth trend.

"On the one hand, China's traditional advantages of complete manufacturing system, complete supporting facilities, and high cost performance have played a supporting role in the rise of the leading index; on the other hand, in the face of complex situations, many small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises give full play to the advantages of" small ships can turn around "and actively seek change. For example, some enterprises expand new customers by building independent websites, social platforms, search engine marketing, etc." The report said.

In the face of the epidemic challenge, China has continued to promote the coordinated prevention and control of the epidemic and economic and social development, and introduced a series of stable foreign trade policies, creating a good environment for international trade exports. Zhejiang, Guangdong and other governments have arranged business flights overseas to enhance exchanges between enterprises and foreign businessmen; Jiangsu and other local governments actively held online matchmaking meetings, invited small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises and overseas buyers to participate online, and helped enterprises speed up the pace of going to sea

Affected by this, in the first three quarters, North America, the European Union and ASEAN became the top three destination regions for China's small, medium and micro foreign trade enterprises to collect money. Among them, the collection amount of China's small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises increased by 23.6% year on year to ASEAN countries and 10% to North American countries. Against the background of weakening euro and slowing demand growth in Europe, China's export to ASEAN and North America continued to boom, which has become an important driving force for the steady improvement of exports.

At the same time, China's small, medium and micro foreign trade enterprises, relying on their own flexibility, can adjust their strategies more quickly, dare to jump out of the comfort zone and actively expand emerging markets such as Africa and Latin America. In terms of the proportion of receipts, Africa grew by 15.5% compared with the same period last year, and Latin America grew by 11.7%. This shows that the number of trading partners of China's small, medium-sized and micro international trade enterprises is increasing, and the overseas market layout is further optimized.

According to the above report, as China's largest trading partner, ASEAN and China have increasingly deepened their industrial chain supply chain cooperation, which has led to the export growth of labor-intensive products such as textile raw materials and textile products, providing strong support for the steady growth of China's foreign trade exports.

In addition, in the first three quarters, China's automobile exports grew 55.5% year on year. "China has become the second largest auto exporter in the world, which has significantly boosted the export of transportation equipment spare parts such as automobiles. Therefore, small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises have become an important complementary force behind it." The report said.

Highlighting the competitive advantages of small, medium and micro enterprises

According to the Competitiveness Index of China's Small, Medium and Micro Foreign Trade Enterprises in the First Three Quarters of 2022 included in the report, the competitiveness level of China's small, medium and micro foreign trade enterprises has steadily improved over the same period. According to the report, China's small, medium and micro foreign trade enterprises, while strengthening their technical level and service capabilities, actively expand new channels and new customers, making their advantages in international competition more diversified and significant. It is expected that in the fourth quarter, China's small, medium and micro foreign trade enterprises will continue their previous excellent performance.

The Competitiveness Index of China's Small, Medium and Micro Foreign Trade Enterprises in the First Three Quarters of 2022 makes a comprehensive evaluation from three dimensions: buyer trust, product attraction and export operation efficiency. The report found that at the beginning of 2022, the above competitiveness index continued the momentum of the end of 2021, and maintained a stable overall situation; From March to April, despite the frequent outbreaks of domestic epidemics, the competitiveness index was not greatly affected, and the index rose steadily; From May to June, as the epidemic situation was effectively controlled, the competitiveness index rose rapidly and reached the highest point in the first half of the year in June; From July to September, the competitiveness index fluctuated slightly due to the slowdown of overseas demand, summer holidays in China's main export destinations and other factors; However, since the outbreak of the epidemic, the transportation costs and other problems that have plagued small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises have been alleviated to a greater extent, the operating efficiency of enterprises has continued to improve, and the competitiveness index has rebounded, reaching the highest point in the first three quarters in September.

The report pointed out that in the first three quarters, the multiple and frequent outbreaks of domestic epidemics did not have much impact on the competitiveness index. The survey shows that China's small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises actively improve their digital level, and strive to resolve the negative impact of the epidemic on overseas participation, offline transaction restrictions and so on; At the same time, the supply chains of some small, medium and micro foreign trade enterprises are distributed in many parts of the country, which can effectively improve the anti risk ability.

Although the international situation is complex and changeable, China's small, medium-sized and micro international trade enterprises, while actively responding to the challenges posed by the external environment, also take the initiative to review themselves and constantly improve their core competitiveness, thus turning the crisis into an opportunity. According to the survey, small, medium and micro foreign trade enterprises are gradually leaping over the development stage of price competition. Through improving product technology content, building brand influence, and strengthening service capabilities, their innovation capabilities are constantly enhanced, and they are gradually forming new international competitive advantages.