Foreign trade imports and exports continued to improve in the first 11 months, and are expected to achieve the 2020 goal of "promoting stability and improving quality"

Under a series of policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade, my country's imports and exports have stabilized rapidly. Recently, the General Administration of Customs released data showing that in the first 11 months of 2020, China's total import and export value of goods trade was 29.04 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.8% over the same period last year. Among them, exports were 16.13 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.7%; imports were 12.91 trillion yuan, a decrease of 0.5%; and the trade surplus was 3.22 trillion yuan, an increase of 24.6%. China's imports and exports to the top five trading partners, including ASEAN, the EU, the United States, Japan and South Korea, have all increased. Among them, ASEAN is China's largest trading partner, with a total trade value of 4.24 trillion yuan between China and ASEAN, an increase of 6.7%, accounting for 14.6% of China's total foreign trade. The EU is China's second largest trading partner, with a total trade value of 4.05 trillion yuan with the EU, an increase of 4.7%, accounting for 13.9% of China's total foreign trade.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought severe challenges to China's foreign trade development since the beginning of this year. Under a series of policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade, China's imports and exports continued to improve in the first 11 months of this year, and it is expected to achieve the annual goal of "promoting stability and improving quality". Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce Research Institute, said in an interview with a reporter from China Business News that in terms of exports, overcoming the troubles of the epidemic and resuming work and production in a timely manner are the prerequisites for the recovery of foreign trade. As for imports, it shows that the international market competitiveness of our domestic related industries continues to improve, and this improvement is not only reflected in away games, but also in home games. Some industry observers believe that my country's foreign trade stabilization policies have achieved practical results, and China's share of the global trade market has further increased. In addition, the "substitution effect" under the epidemic is also an important reason for my country's good export performance. Overall, external demand is still there, and exports will remain highly prosperous. It is undeniable that this year, under the influence of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, my country's foreign trade imports and exports have still achieved a high level of prosperity. Under a series of precise policies to protect foreign trade entities, export orders, and industrial chain stability, my country's imports and exports continue to improve, which also reflects the strong comprehensive competitiveness of foreign trade. It should be pointed out that with the implementation of a series of precise policies, my country's foreign trade innovation capabilities in product added value and other aspects have also been continuously enhanced. For example, a batch of coffee machines produced by a Shenzhen company for export to Italy are different from ordinary coffee machines in that their products are optimized for consumer preferences. They are not only smaller in size, but also have self-cleaning functions, and their intelligent automation functions are further improved. The reporter noticed that in electromechanical, the proportion of its product exports increased to 59.3%. The export of high-tech and high-value-added products such as integrated circuits, computers, and medical devices is strong, with growth rates of 14.8%, 10.7%, and 44.5%, respectively.

On December 8, Li Xingqian, Director of the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce, stated in public that under difficulties and pressure, China's foreign trade industry innovation capabilities continued to increase. From the perspective of regional development, the general trade mode of exports in the eastern region continued to expand, and the independent development capacity was further enhanced. The export-oriented economy in the central and western regions has accelerated, the export growth rate is higher than the overall, and the industry competitiveness has been significantly improved. Li Xingqian said that the rapid development of new formats and new models has made an increasing contribution to my country's foreign trade. Cross-border e-commerce and market procurement trade have seen rapid growth in exports, playing an important role in efficiently connecting domestic and international markets and stimulating the vitality of small and medium-sized foreign trade entities. Data show that since the beginning of this year, my country's foreign trade enterprises have continuously improved their innovation capabilities and used product quality to expand and win markets. In the first 11 months, my country's private enterprises imported and exported 13.5 trillion yuan, up 11.3% year-on-year, accounting for 46.4% of my country's total foreign trade value in the same period, up 4 percentage points from the same period last year. Exports of high value-added products maintained rapid growth. In the first 11 months, my country's exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 9.6 trillion yuan, up 5.4% year-on-year.

It should be pointed out that although the current international market has rebounded, the new crown pneumonia epidemic is still spreading abroad, and my country's foreign trade will still face some uncertain factors in its development. Bai Ming said that on the one hand, it is necessary to seize the opportunities for the expansion of spillover demand generated by the economic stimulus of major European and American markets, especially the business opportunities brought about by the expansion of the demand for home economy and anti-epidemic materials; on the other hand, in some South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, the supply chain of the industrial chain should be affected by the epidemic, and the supply capacity should be supplemented in time. Some observers said that the epidemic is still spreading around the world, international demand is generally sluggish, there are still bottlenecks in the industrial chain and supply chain cycle, and trade protectionism is on the rise. China's foreign trade development still faces many uncertain and unstable factors. The Ministry of Commerce will continue to advance various tasks in a solid manner and go all out to achieve the goal of stabilizing and improving the quality of foreign trade throughout the year. According to reporters, the "Opinions on Further Stabilizing Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment" issued by the General Office of the State Council recently proposed 15 policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment. These 15 measures to stabilize foreign trade include adding a batch of market procurement trade mode pilots, striving to expand the total amount to about 30, supporting cross-border e-commerce platforms, cross-border logistics development and overseas warehouse construction, and increasing credit cultivation efforts for foreign trade comprehensive service companies. Expand online channels for foreign trade, promote "one country, one exhibition online", support small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises to open up markets, help export enterprises connect with more overseas buyers, and improve customs clearance and personnel exchanges. Li Xingqian said that in the face of new situations and new tasks, it is necessary to place innovative development of foreign trade in a more important position and respond to unstable and uncertain factors more actively and effectively through innovation. This is an important part of my country's implementation of deeper reforms and higher levels of opening up. It is a strong guarantee for stabilizing the basic situation of foreign trade and foreign investment, the fundamental driving force for promoting high-quality development of trade, and a strong support for building a new development pattern.