General

According to the Report on Export Trade (B2B) Index of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises in the First Three quarters of 2022 jointly released by the Commerce Industry Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and XTransfer on November 9, the collection volume of China's small, medium and micro international trading enterprises increased by 12.8% year on year in the first three quarters, slightly higher than the 12.5% increase in the national export volume released by the General Administration of Customs. China's international trade has increased steadily in the first three quarters in a complex environment; At the same time, the collection volume of China's small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises has continued to grow, and the competitiveness of enterprises has steadily improved.

The report pointed out that since this year, the global economic growth has slowed down and the inflationary pressure in some economies has 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, bringing risks and challenges to foreign trade exports. Nevertheless, there are many favorable factors to support China's foreign trade to resist pressure and achieve steady growth.

Foreign trade export is expected to achieve a new breakthrough

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 and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises in the face of external pressure. In the fourth quarter, although there are still many uncertainties in the external environment, it is also conducive to the sustained implementation of the corporate rescue policy, and international trade enterprises to improve their response capacity through digital means and other favorable factors to support the high-quality development of foreign trade exports. Considering that the fourth quarter is the peak season of global seasonal consumption, 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 and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises not only achieved a stable start in the first quarter, but also quickly reversed the downward trend of the index caused by frequent outbreaks of epidemic in the second half of the second quarter. In the third quarter, under the influence of many factors such as rising inflation and currency depreciation, overseas demand slowed down. In addition, July and August were the summer holidays of China's main export destinations, such as Europe and the United States. The relevant indexes fluctuated to some extent, 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 of goods have played a supporting role in the rise of the leading index; on the other hand, in the face of complex situations, many small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises give full play to the advantages of 'small boats are easy to 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 challenge of the epidemic, China has continued to promote the overall planning of epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, and has issued a series of policies to stabilize foreign trade, creating a good environment for international trade exports. Governments in Zhejiang, Guangdong and other places have arranged business flights overseas to enhance exchanges between enterprises and foreign investors; Jiangsu and other local governments actively held online matchmaking meetings, invited small and medium-sized 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 have become the top three destination regions for China's small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises. Among them, the collection volume of China's small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises increased by 23.6% year-on-year to ASEAN countries and 10% year-on-year to North American countries. Against the background of the weakening of the euro and the slowdown of European demand growth, China's sustained high growth in exports to ASEAN and North America has become an important driving force for the steady improvement of exports.

At the same time, China's small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises can adjust their strategies more quickly by virtue of their own flexibility, 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 increased by 15.5% compared with the same period last year, and Latin America increased by 11.7%. This reflects the increasing number of trading partners of China's small and medium-sized international trading enterprises, and the further optimization of overseas market layout.

According to the above report, as China's largest trading partner, ASEAN and China's industrial chain supply chain cooperation is deepening and there is a certain degree of complementarity, which has led to the growth of the export of labor-intensive products such as textile raw materials and textile products, and provided strong support for the steady growth of China's foreign trade exports.

In addition, in the first three quarters, China's automobile exports increased by 55.5% year-on-year. "China has become the world's second largest auto exporter, significantly driving the export of vehicles and other transportation equipment parts, and small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises have become an important complement behind it," the report said.

The competitive advantages of small and medium-sized enterprises are prominent

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 achieved steady improvement over the same period. According to the report, China's small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises actively expand new channels and new customers while strengthening their technical level and service capacity, so as to make their advantages in international competition more diversified and significant. It is expected that in the fourth quarter, China's small and medium-sized 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 has been comprehensively evaluated from three dimensions: buyer trust, product attractiveness and export operation efficiency. The report found that at the beginning of 2022, the above competitiveness index continued the momentum at the end of 2021 and remained stable as a whole; From March to April, although the domestic epidemic occurred frequently, it did not have a great impact on the competitiveness index, and the index rose steadily; From May to June, with the effective control of the epidemic, 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 in overseas demand and the summer holidays in China's main export destinations; However, since the outbreak of the epidemic, the transportation costs and other problems that have plagued small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises have been largely alleviated, and the enterprise operation efficiency has continued to improve, the competitiveness index has rebounded, and reached the highest point in the first three quarters in September.

The report pointed out that in the first three quarters, the frequent occurrence of domestic epidemic did not have much impact on the competitiveness index. According to the survey, China's small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises have actively improved the level of digitalization and worked hard to resolve the negative effects of the epidemic, such as overseas exhibition and offline transaction restrictions; At the same time, the supply chain of some small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises is distributed in many parts of the country, which can effectively improve the ability to resist risks.

Although the international situation is complex and changeable, China's small and medium-sized international trading enterprises actively respond to the challenges posed by the external environment, but also take the initiative to examine themselves and constantly improve their core competitiveness, so as to turn the crisis into an opportunity. The survey found that small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises are gradually leaping over the development stage of price competition, and gradually forming new international competitive advantages by improving the technical content of products, building brand influence, and strengthening service capabilities.