Ministry of Commerce: make efforts to stabilize foreign trade base with policy "combination fist"

Novel coronavirus pneumonia has been affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic since the news conference of the State Council's joint defense and joint control mechanism was held recently. In order to effectively cope with the impact of the epidemic, the Ministry of Commerce will work together with relevant departments to promote the construction of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive test area, support the development of processing trade, and hold online Canton Fair, so as to stabilize the basic foreign trade base with a combination of policies.

Ren Hongbin, Assistant Minister of Commerce, said that at present, the situation of domestic epidemic prevention and control continues to be good, and foreign trade enterprises return to work and resume production in an orderly manner. However, the spread of the epidemic in the world is accelerating, which has a huge impact on the global economy and trade. From the recent investigation of the Ministry of Commerce on key provinces and cities, import and export chambers of Commerce and key enterprises, foreign trade enterprises are generally faced with many problems, such as cancellation or extension of orders, difficulty in signing new orders, and poor logistics and transportation.

Li Xingqian, director of the Department of foreign trade of the Ministry of Commerce, also believes that at present, the international epidemic has seriously impacted the world economy, and the number of unstable and uncertain factors has increased significantly. Among them, the processing trade is affected by the epidemic more quickly and directly, facing the "two-way squeeze" between the demand side and the supply side. On the one hand, export orders are decreasing. On the other hand, the global supply chain is blocked and it is difficult to import raw materials and spare parts.

In the face of severe foreign trade situation, the State Council timely issued policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade. On March 10, the executive meeting of the State Council deliberated and approved measures such as improving export tax rebate, increasing foreign trade credit and increasing export credit insurance support. On April 7, the executive meeting of the State Council again launched a series of policies to stabilize foreign trade, such as the establishment of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive test area, supporting the development of processing trade, holding online Canton Fair, etc., and making efforts to stabilize the basic foreign trade base.

It is understood that in the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will work with relevant departments and local governments to promote the implementation of policies and stabilize the basic foreign trade market. In terms of specific measures, Ren Hongbin revealed that relevant work will be promoted from three aspects: first, we will continue to actively promote the construction of comprehensive test area, establish assessment mechanism, improve relevant supporting policies and measures, and promote the sustainable and healthy development of cross-border e-commerce in accordance with the principles of developing standardization, developing standardization and encouraging innovation, inclusiveness and prudence; second, we will work with local governments and relevant departments to implement support as soon as possible We will continue to promote the transformation and upgrading of processing trade in coastal areas, support the central and western regions and the northeast regions to undertake gradient transfer, encourage processing trade enterprises to open up domestic markets, and promote the innovative development of processing trade.

Third, we will actively mobilize all forces, optimize the exhibition mode, improve the technical level, and improve supporting services Attract more countries, more merchants and more platforms to participate, and hold a special online fair with special significance, special measures and highlights in a special period.

In addition, the development of processing trade in the central and western regions and the Northeast will receive more policy support. Li Xingqian said that the CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to guiding the gradient transfer of processing trade to the central and western regions. In the next step, we will take multiple measures at the same time, support the central and western regions and the northeast region to further undertake the transfer and promote the coordinated development of the region from the aspects of carrier construction, platform docking, fiscal, land and financial policies.

(source: Economic Reference)