General

Add 29 national import trade promotion innovation demonstration zones; The 132nd China Import and Export Commodity Fair and the 5th China International Import Expo were held; Optimize the list of cross-border e-commerce retail imports; Adjust the tariffs on 954 imported goods... Since this year, China has increased its market opening efforts and continued to expand the import of high-quality products worldwide. According to customs data, in the first 10 months of this year, China's imports amounted to 14.91 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.2%, including 1.48 trillion yuan in October, an increase of 6.8%.

According to the experts interviewed, in recent years, China's construction of a trade power has advanced in depth, international economic cooperation and new competitive advantages have been strengthened, and China has taken the initiative to expand imports, unleash domestic demand potential, and seize the first opportunity for the development of an import power. China has been the world's second largest importer for 13 consecutive years. It is the export market of 210 countries and regions, and the main export market of 60 countries and regions. In the first half of this year, China's imports accounted for 10.6% of the world's imports.

Innovation import promotion platform

The Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and other eight departments jointly issued a notice recently, adding 29 national import trade promotion and innovation demonstration zones nationwide, including Beijing Capital International Airport Airport Economic Zone, Shanghai Huaihai Xintiandi Import Trade Functional Zone, Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone, Chongqing Liangjiang New Area, and Guangdong Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone. Up to now, there are 43 import demonstration zones.

"The newly added demonstration area has three functions: international trade promotion, innovation and demonstration." Chen Chao, an assistant researcher of the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, said, on the one hand, it is conducive to China's grasp of the development initiative. The newly added demonstration area covers "the east, west, north, south, middle", "sea, land and air", pays attention to regional coordinated development, industrial transformation and development, and further attracts talents, technologies and services, We will better promote high-quality development. On the other hand, we will fully stimulate China's international trade market potential, create more demand for the world, share development opportunities with the world, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

Before this new addition, China has determined 14 national import trade promotion innovation demonstration zones. Li Xingqian, Director of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, said at the regular briefing on policies of the State Council held earlier that these demonstration zones actively carried out policy innovation, effectively promoted the deep integration of import trade with industry and consumption, and formed their respective advantages and characteristics. For example, Guangzhou Nansha District has formed six 10 billion level import platforms focusing on alcohol, milk powder, health products and other industries.

Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province will be selected as an import demonstration zone in 2020. Chen Chao said that through trade promotion and innovation, Yiwu is based on building itself into the most convenient and low-cost first gateway for global goods to enter China, and continues to promote innovation in import platforms, channels, systems and services. For small and medium-sized enterprises, they can enjoy the advantage of "concentrating resources to do great things". The policy of the demonstration zone superimposed with dividends is conducive to integrating resources, better connecting global brands, enterprises and products, and solving the problems that a single small enterprise cannot do. For example, Yiwu has built the core competitiveness of overseas warehouse brand with the mode of "Yixin Europe+overseas warehouse", carried out precise import investment attraction, and become the first gateway for overseas SMEs to explore the Chinese market, and the preferred platform for global SMEs to expand import, export and entrepot business. In 2021, the import volume of Yiwu will reach 24.39 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 95.3%, nearly 10 times higher than the 2.28 billion yuan in 2012.

Continue to expand market opening

Since January 1 of this year, China has implemented temporary import tax rates on 954 imported goods, and reduced taxes in the first year of the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and the China Cambodia Free Trade Agreement. From July 1, the most favored nation tax rate of information technology products listed in the attached table of the Amendment to the Tariff Schedule of the People's Republic of China's Accession to the World Trade Organization will be reduced in the seventh step.

Relevant experts said that this year's tariff adjustment was characterized by greater tariff preference and greater reduction in the agreed tax rate. Continued reduction of import tariffs on some goods in international trade and further increase of preferential tariff on imported goods are conducive to maintaining the security and stability of the domestic industrial chain supply chain, supporting scientific and technological innovation and industrial transformation and upgrading, as well as giving play to China's super large market advantages and actively participating in the reshaping of the global industrial chain, It is also in line with the need for China to further expand opening up and better build a new pattern of international and domestic double circulation and mutual promotion.

In terms of expanding imports, China not only lowered import tariffs in international trade, but also optimized the structure of imported goods. Since March 1, China has optimized and adjusted the list of cross-border e-commerce retail imports, adding 29 items of goods with strong consumer demand in recent years, such as ski equipment, household dishwashers, video game equipment, golf equipment, tomato juice, etc. "This is conducive to enriching domestic market supply, better satisfying consumers' yearning for a better life, and promoting countries to share Chinese market opportunities," said Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economy and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In addition, to expand imports, we should also give full play to the functions of China International Import Expo, China Import and Export Commodities Fair and other exhibitions. Through these exhibitions, we can connect the world, buy and sell the world, and serve the world, so as to promote high-quality products from more countries to enter the Chinese market. Chen Chao said that in the face of pressures such as declining external demand, sustained inflation and exchange rate fluctuations that may be caused by the global economic recession, the Expo has released more "China opportunities" to the world.

Zhao Yongsheng, a researcher at the National Institute of Opening up and the Institute of Global Innovation and Governance of the University of International Business and Economics, said that it is not difficult to find that not only the number of Chinese products is increasing, but also, more importantly, the quality of Chinese products is getting higher. The 5th Expo is not only the "five consecutive leaps" of China's industrial chain and value chain, but also the "five consecutive leaps" of China's international trade enterprises from passive to active.