Economic Observation: Promote The Quality And Quantity Of Foreign Trade From The Recent Overseas Business Hotspots

　　 "In May, the destocking of major overseas markets achieved some results, and there was a strong incentive to replenish the inventory of furniture, textile and clothing products." He Yadong, deputy director and spokesman of the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce, said at a regular press conference held by the Ministry of Commerce on June 13.

　　 Import and export

　　 In May, China's import and export increased by 8.6% year on year, of which the export increased by 11.2% year on year. In this regard, He Yadong said that in May, supported by some positive factors, China's trade in goods generally maintained a steady and progressive trend, which was in line with expectations. From the perspective of the industry, the market demand for the following three types of products is stable:

　　 First, consumer electronics products. After passing through the cyclical trough, the growth of electronic products gradually resumed. According to the statistics of research institutions, the global shipments of mobile phones and laptops in the first quarter increased by about 10% and 4% respectively, showing a clear recovery momentum. Driven by the demand for end products, China's IC exports and imports increased by 34.8% and 22% respectively in May.

　　 The second is household products. The destocking of major overseas markets has achieved certain results. Furniture, textiles and clothing and other products have a strong incentive to replenish inventory. A series of sports events such as the Olympic Games have also driven the demand for TV and other products. In May, the export value of household appliances increased by 23.5%.

　　 Third, some high-value electromechanical products. Relying on the complete industrial chain and technological advantages, China's automobile and ship products have been increasingly competitive. The export amount in May increased by 20.3% and 67.7% respectively.

　　 In the second half of the year, China's foreign trade development is still facing a complex situation. This is mainly reflected in the unstable growth of external demand, the strength and sustainability of inventory replenishment in major markets to be observed, and the increase of geopolitical, trade barriers, shipping prices and other interference factors. Enterprises still face more uncertainty in order fulfillment. We will further give full play to the comprehensive effectiveness of our foreign trade policy, effectively help enterprises to relieve difficulties, continue to cultivate new momentum for foreign trade, and make every effort to promote the quality and quantity of foreign trade to be stable.

　　 RCEP

　　 By June this year, the first anniversary of the full effectiveness of RCEP, how to improve the utilization rate of RCEP rules and release huge development dividends in the next step? He Yadong replied that the Regional Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (RCEP) is a free trade agreement with the largest number of participants, the largest economic and trade scale and the greatest development potential in the world, and an important milestone in the economic integration of the Asia Pacific region. One year since the RCEP came into full force, it has further promoted the opening up and cooperation of the region in a wider scope, at a higher level and at a deeper level, and enhanced confidence in boosting the global economic recovery.

　　 First, stimulate the vitality of regional economic development. In 2023, the intra regional trade of RCEP will reach 5.6 trillion US dollars, slightly increasing from 2021 before the formal entry into force of the agreement. The industrial chain supply chain cooperation in the region is getting closer. In 2023, the RCEP region will attract a total of 234.1 billion dollars of green space investment, an increase of 29.8%, 2.2 times that of 2021.

　　 The second is to help China expand its high-level opening up. The trade in goods has made steady progress. In 2023, China's imports and exports to other 14 RCEP member countries totaled 12.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.3% over 2021. Investment cooperation continues to heat up. In 2023, China's non-financial direct investment flow to other RCEP member countries will reach US $18.06 billion, up 26% year on year, 14 percentage points higher than China's global growth rate. More enterprises benefit from RCEP. In 2023, Chinese enterprises will enjoy preferential imports of 90.52 billion yuan under RCEP, and tax concessions will reach 2.36 billion yuan.

　　 Next, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to promote the implementation of RCEP with high quality. Externally, give full play to China's role as the co chair of RCEP in 2024, lead all parties to implement the agreement at a high level, and constantly improve the implementation effect of the agreement in the region as a whole. Internally, we will continue to provide support and services for enterprises to make full use of the preferential measures of free trade agreements such as RCEP. We have just printed and distributed good experiences and practices for high-quality implementation of RCEP. Centering on four major aspects of strengthening top-level design, promoting the development of trade in goods, promoting service trade and investment cooperation, and creating a good business environment, we have summarized and refined 28 good experiences and practices for local reference in the implementation of RCEP, and continue to improve the effectiveness of agreement utilization to better benefit enterprises.

　　 Commercial circulation pilot

　　 At present, the website of the Ministry of Commerce has released the review results of 2024 pilot cities of modern commerce and trade circulation system, and the first batch of 20 cities are planned to be included in the pilot. As for how to support the digital transformation of traditional wholesale and retail enterprises, He Yadong said that in order to speed up the construction of a modern commerce and trade circulation system, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Finance will carry out the construction of pilot cities for modern commerce and trade circulation system in batches from 2024 to build a number of modern commerce and trade circulation node cities with balanced urban and rural development, strong radiation driving force and good supply flexibility. In the early stage, according to the principle of selecting the best from the best, through local recommendation, expert review and social publicity procedures, a total of 20 cities including Tianjin were shortlisted as pilot cities of the 2024 modern commercial circulation system.

　　 In the next step, the pilot cities will be guided to refine their work plans, unblock the blocking points, and accelerate the construction of an efficient and smooth modern commercial circulation system. First, build a network to promote the integrated development of urban and rural commercial circulation. Promote the upgrading and transformation of backbone markets and regional cold chain logistics bases, extend the supply chain to the upstream and downstream, and smooth the flow of industrial products into the countryside and agricultural products into the city. We will transform township business centers, supermarkets and fairs, improve the county and rural three-level logistics distribution system, and complement the shortcomings of rural business circulation facilities. The second is to build a circulation and supply guarantee system for necessities. Improve the circulation and supply guarantee capacity of the wholesale market for agricultural products, improve the storage, processing and distribution capacity and efficiency, strengthen the construction of consumer terminal network outlets, improve the regulation system for the storage of daily necessities, and improve information monitoring, forecasting and early warning. Third, smooth circulation and improve the urban and rural renewable resources recovery system. Support the construction and transformation of recycling resources sorting centers such as waste household appliances and furniture, improve the facilities of recycling resources transfer stations such as waste household appliances and furniture, and smooth the cycle of household appliances consumption. Fourth, forge long plates to cultivate modern circulation backbone enterprises. Support the digital transformation of traditional wholesale and retail enterprises, integrate online and offline marketing networks, and provide services to communities and villages. Encourage the cross-border integration of backbone circulation enterprises with modern agriculture, advanced manufacturing and life service industries, and develop modern supply chains.

　　 The Ministry of Commerce will give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, better play the role of the government, encourage local governments to adjust measures to local conditions, explore development models and work paths, strengthen departmental cooperation, strengthen guidance and supervision, and promote the implementation of pilot work.

　　 Entry Expo

　　 The 7th Expo will be held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10 this year, and will continue to be composed of national exhibitions, enterprise exhibitions, Hongqiao Forum, professional supporting activities and cultural exchange activities. A few days ago, more than one thousand exhibitors signed the 7th China International Fair.

　　 He Yadong said that all work is being carried out in an orderly manner and positive progress has been made. The overall progress of the invitation of the host countries and participating countries of the national exhibition is faster than that of the same period in previous years, and more than 30 countries or international organizations have confirmed in writing their participation. The progress of enterprise exhibition recruitment is faster than last year, and the contracted exhibition area has reached 325000 square meters, more than 90% of the planned area. The investment promotion work started in an all-round way, and began to accept the registration of domestic and foreign visitors. The Hongqiao Forum has made great efforts to strengthen the design of theme topics. It has carried out global consultations in Switzerland, South Africa, Japan and the United Nations Headquarters, and has conducted extensive solicitations for international organizations, well-known think tanks, media, forum member enterprises, etc. The collection of professional supporting activities and cultural exchange activities will also be launched in the near future.

　　 Since this year, we have carried out global promotion of the Expo in more than 30 countries and regions. At the same time, we have continued to hold a series of activities of "Entering the Expo into Local Areas" in China to speed up the promotion of "exhibitors to become investors".