On December 30, the State Council Information Office held a regular briefing on the State Council’s policies to introduce the implementation of cross-cycle adjustments, high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), and promotion of the stable development of foreign trade.
In 2021, facing the complex situation at home and abroad, my country’s foreign trade development will achieve the goal of steady growth in quantity and quality, making an important contribution to stabilizing economic growth. The scale of foreign trade reached a new level. It is estimated that my country’s import and export of goods is expected to reach US$6 trillion this year, an increase of over 20%, and its status as the largest trading country will be consolidated. The structure of foreign trade presents new features. The trade between emerging markets and my country has become closer, accounting for 49.5% of my country’s exports in the first 11 months; the added value of exports has continued to increase, with exports of mechanical and electrical products accounting for 59%. The growth of foreign trade gathers new momentum. Both cross-border e-commerce and market procurement achieved double-digit growth, with over 2,000 overseas warehouses. Make new contributions to the development of foreign trade. In the first three quarters, the increase in exports of goods accounted for 27.8% of the increase in GDP, a record high over the same period in 10 years.
Vice Minister of Commerce Ren Hongbin said that while fully seeing the results, we must also see that under the impact of the epidemic, the world economy is fragile and the growth of external demand is weak. It is unprecedented to do a good job in stabilizing foreign trade next year.
In response, the Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments and units, proposed 15 policy measures from 4 aspects. One is to strengthen fiscal, taxation and financial policy support. Continue to accelerate the progress of export tax rebates, increase export credit support, and enhance foreign trade enterprises’ awareness and ability to avoid risks in exchange rates. The second is to further encourage the development of new forms of foreign trade such as cross-border e-commerce. A number of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones will be added to promote the high-quality development of overseas warehouses and adjust and optimize the list of cross-border e-commerce retail imports. The third is to ease the pressure on foreign trade supply chains such as international logistics. Encourage foreign trade companies to sign long-term agreements with shipping companies to actively ensure the domestic supply of bulk commodities and enhance the level of trade liberalization and facilitation. The fourth is to support key industries and key enterprises. Deepen the cooperation between the eastern, central and western regions, and the northeast to jointly build a national processing trade industrial park to support labor-intensive product export enterprises.
“We must use policy stability to drive the stability of foreign trade entities and market expectations, and make forward-looking cross-cycle adjustments to promote the stable and healthy development of foreign trade.” Ren Hongbin said.
On January 1, 2022, RCEP will be officially implemented. Currently, domestic preparations for the implementation of the agreement are in place, and all 701 binding obligations are ready for implementation. “RCEP is of great significance to my country’s construction of a new development pattern.” Ren Hongbin said that the implementation of the agreement is a new milestone in my country’s opening up. It will become a link and bridge connecting the domestic and international dual cycles, bringing the domestic and international markets and two resources closer together. Connected.
According to Yu Benlin, Director of the Department of International Economic and Trade Relations of the Ministry of Commerce, RCEP is conducive to expanding the export of our country’s superior products. The trade volume with RCEP member countries accounts for about 1/3 of my country’s total trade volume. The rules of accumulation of origin greatly reduce the threshold for commodity enjoyment. This will encourage manufacturers to use the original materials in the region more and help the region to form a tighter and more resilient industrial chain supply chain. RCEP will enhance the growth of mutual investment between my country and other member states. In the field of service trade, all parties have made high-level openness commitments. In the field of investment, all parties have made commitments in the form of a negative list, and foreign investment access has been more relaxed.
In order to support enterprises to make good use of RCEP, continue to improve their ability to participate in international cooperation and competition, and promote domestic industrial upgrading, the Ministry of Commerce will work with relevant departments to implement the agreement’s service trade opening commitments and investment negative list commitments to ensure that all opening measures are implemented. Guide local governments to improve their business environment, promote foreign trade and attract investment, and promote high-quality local development through high-quality implementation of agreements.
“People’s Daily” (December 31, 2021 Edition 03)
Head of duty: Li Huan
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