Innovation Drives Stronger Momentum in Foreign Trade

 

 

Busy Chengdu International Railway Port. Photo by Bai Guibin

 

 

Source: GACC

 

 

Customs officers of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge supervise exported vehicles. Photo by Yu Bo

 

 

Foreign trade is an important part of China's open economy and a key hub for smoothing the domestic and international dual circulation.

During his recent visit to Anhui, President Xi Jinping stressed that we should make solid progress in the reform of domestic and foreign trade integration, increase efforts to attract and stabilize foreign investment, and accelerate the cultivation of new drivers for foreign trade.

The "Resolution" of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to "deepen the foreign trade structural reform" and "create a set of systems and policies to support efforts to build China into a strong trading nation".

Since the beginning of this year, China's foreign trade import and export have grown steadily, with a continuously optimized structure. The total value of imports and exports has hit a new high. Trade in goods has shown strong resilience and market vitality, showing the characteristics of increasing volume, high quality and stable share. The new driving force of China's foreign trade is embodied in the vitality of "Chinese innovation", which is carried by round-the-clock ship routes that reach rivers and seas, as well as 20 million fast-moving cross-border e-commerce and cross-border mail express packages every day.

Recently, the reporter visited dozens of import and export enterprises in five provinces and municipalities including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Chongqing and Sichuan to explore the key to the steady growth of China's import and export and feel the new drivers and advantages of China's foreign trade development.

—— Editor

According to customs statistics, in the first three quarters of this year, China's import and export value was RMB 32.33 trillion, up 5.3% YoY. Among them, the export value was RMB 18.62 trillion, up 6.2%; the import value was RMB 13.71 trillion, up 4.1%, exceeding RMB 32 trillion for the first time during the same period in history.

Since the beginning of this year, as enterprises continue to increase R&D investment and make breakthroughs in core technologies, more and more intelligent manufacturing products have achieved breakthroughs in quality and performance, and their competitiveness in the international market has been enhanced. New formats and models of foreign trade have developed rapidly, and customs and other departments have innovated supervision service methods to provide strong support for the steady growth of foreign trade. With the agglomeration of various favorable factors, we will certainly be able to achieve the annual foreign trade development goal.

Product innovation ——

Digital and intelligent transformation to consolidate the foundation of foreign trade industry

Zhongshan, Guangdong Province is one of the important producing areas of home appliances in China.

In the intelligent workshop and finished product storage area of Guangdong Enaiter Electric Appliance Co., Ltd., the whole process of warehousing and ex-warehousing is intelligently operated.

From full-automatic blanking manipulator to unmanned automatic production line, from automatic stacking of finished products to AGV intelligent warehousing and material distribution, Enaiter is making every effort to build an intelligent manufacturing application workshop. "This year, we try to build a digital industrial belt, extending from the internal digitization of enterprises to cooperative manufacturers and upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. We will create automatic, efficient and unmanned production workshops, enhance product competitiveness, and drive the small home appliance industry cluster to usher in a new round of export growth." said Li Chengwu, deputy general manager of the Company.

"Over the past 10 years, Enaiter has focused on the R&D and manufacturing of smart rice cookers. Relying on its constantly upgraded innovative technology and unswerving craftsmanship quality, it has become a leader in the field of rice cooker production." Li Chengwu introduced that the Company attaches great importance to technological innovation and product quality, with annual R&D expenditures accounting for more than 5% of its operating revenue. Up to now, Enaiter has more than 700 valid patent certifications, including 273 utility model patents and 423 design patents.

Enaiter constantly enhance its brand value, broaden sales channels and open up domestic and international markets. At present, the Company's export network covers more than 30 countries and regions in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. In the first three quarters of this year, the total export value was nearly RMB 700 million, a year-on-year increase of 20%.

"Smart home appliance is a traditional characteristic and advantageous industry in Zhongshan. Through independent innovation, the home appliance industry has promoted the digital and intelligent transformation of the industrial chain, realized the transformation from 'product and scale' to 'brand and innovation', and significantly enhanced the added value of products and the international competitiveness of brands," said Zhan Shaotong, Director of Gongbei Customs.

In the first three quarters of this year, Zhongshan exported 49.46 billion yuan in home appliances, up 22.3% year on year. In order to support enterprises to "go global", Gongbei Customs plays a leading role in reform, strengthens customs intellectual property protection and technical trade measures consulting services, and continuously optimizes the business environment at port.

Dongguan of Guangdong Province, the "City of Art Toy in China". According to statistics, 1/4 of the global animation derivatives are produced in Dongguan, and nearly 85% of China's art toys are produced in Dongguan.

In the exhibition hall of Dongguan Dongxiu Culture Communication Co., Ltd., there are mechas based on Chinese historical or mythological figures such as Lv Bu, Ao Bing, Bai Qi and Gan Jiang in the showcase. They look cool and lifelike. These modern model toys with traditional Chinese elements are welcomed in the market.

In the first three quarters, the export of Dongxiu's mecha models increased by 20%. At present, orders have been placed until December. "There is a huge consumer group of mecha models both at home and abroad. As Chinese culture goes global, overseas consumers are interested in China's original mecha models. Our products have become popular one after another, and our overseas sales volume has increased rapidly. Since the beginning of this year, we have also successfully explored the Southeast Asian market through local cross-border e-commerce platforms." said Liang Zhanming, person in charge of motor nuclear products of Dongxiu Company.

The "going global" of cultural and creative industries not only promotes Chinese products to foreign consumers, but also shows Chinese creativity and design concepts to the world. "At present, the art toy industry is driving Dongguan's toy industry into a new era of development. Many art toy enterprises have realized digital and intelligent production management, transferred and upgraded from OEM to deep participation in brand IP R&D and manufacturing, so as to drive high-quality development of the industry with innovation," said Pan Yingqi, Director of Dongguan Customs.

Logistics innovation ——

Convenient and fast logistics channels help "Made in China" reach the world

At 11:30 p.m. on October 20, an ASEAN Express Train loaded with high-end electronic parts, PVC materials and other goods arrived at Chongqing Tuanjie Village Railway Central Station on time, marking the smooth opening of a new international trade channel.

This train entered China from Pingxiang Port in Guangxi and arrived at Chongqing Tuanjie Village Railway Central Station. After being inspected and released by Yuzhou Customs affiliated to Chongqing Customs, it seamlessly connected with the China-Europe Railway Express and continued to Europe, heading for Mara, Poland.

As the logistics and operation organization center of New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, Chongqing has opened more than 100 new logistics routes in the past two years. More and more Belt and Road partner countries have become the destinations of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

As the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor extends, chrome ores imported from South Africa in original containers meet export vehicles made in Chongqing at Guoyuan Port. Bananas imported from Laos through China-Laos-Thailand cold chain trains and fresh lemons exported from Tongnan are transferred in Chongqing... More and more goods circulate through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor is not only a convenient and fast logistics channel, but also a dynamic economic and trade corridor. According to the data released by the GACC, in the first three quarters, the import and export value of western China through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor reached RMB 513.79 billion, up 15%.

Through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, computers and their parts and components, integrated circuits and automobiles are transported to all over the world by trains, ships and shuttle buses. The "industry + logistics" advantage has also equipped the "Made in Bay Area Products" of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with wings to reach the world.

Recently, a customer in Europe ordered a custom-made pair of eyeglass resin lenses. The order was sent from Europe to Carl Zeiss Guangzhou factory in Guangzhou, China. After receiving the order, the factory went through multiple production processes such as generation, polishing, cleaning, dyeing and coating, and soon completed the manufacturing of lenses. At 4:00 p.m. that day, the finished product was shipped to Hong Kong International Airport and flew to Europe at 10:00 p.m. that day. The resin lenses could be delivered to customers on time at 10:00 a.m. local time the next day.

"The Guangzhou factory receives customized orders from all over the world around the clock. From ordering to delivery, it can achieve '72-hour global delivery' at the fastest speed, which is even more efficient than the Group's local factories in Europe." Sun Wei, Logistics Director of Carl Zeiss Vision Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., said that as an advanced manufacturing enterprise wholly invested by Carl Zeiss Group in Guangzhou, Carl Zeiss Vision (China) Co., Ltd. is the manufacturer with the largest proportion of production capacity within Carl Zeiss Vision Group.

How to achieve fast customs clearance of resin lenses from Guangzhou to Europe via Hong Kong International Airport? According to Cai Yiwei, Deputy Director of the General Business Department of Huangpu Customs, the customs supports the construction of Dongguan-Hong Kong International Airport Center and initiates prepositioning of cross-border security check, which extends the security check, goods consolidation and palletizing of export goods that should have been completed at Hong Kong International Airport to Dongguan. Goods can be loaded and delivered within 15 hours after leaving the factory. Since its official operation in April 2023, the import and export value of Dongguan-Hong Kong International Airport Center has exceeded 15.8 billion yuan, serving 767 enterprises, expanding the variety of imported and exported commodities to 832 types, with a freight volume of 13,571.84 tons.

Business model innovation ——

Develop new formats and models of foreign trade to gather strong growth momentum

Shenzhen Sailvan Times Technology Co., Ltd. is a cross-border e-commerce enterprise driven by big data technology. "Through long-term research on overseas consumers' parameters such as size and fabric elasticity and customer feedback data, we have built a database of more than 19,000 styles to personalize the design and production of clothing for customers." Zhang Denglian, vice president of the Company, said that in the first half of this year, the company's operating income reached RMB 4.177 billion, a year-on-year increase of 50.65%.

"According to the characteristics of cross-border e-commerce's 'small and multi-batch' business model, Shenzhen Customs has realized the 'customs clearance immediately upon arrival and on-site diversion' of cross-border e-commerce packages through intensive and information management of delivery service places, which shortens the overall transportation efficiency and helps us expand our market to more than 180 countries in North America, Europe and other regions," said Zhang Denglian.

Cross-border e-commerce has become a new driving force for the growth of foreign trade by using new technologies and adapting to new demands. In the first half of this year, China's cross-border e-commerce import and export value reached 1.25 trillion yuan, a record high for the same period in history, up 13% year on year, accounting for 5.9% of China's total import and export value. Among them, exports were about 979.9 billion yuan, up 18.7 percent.

In June this year, nine departments including the Ministry of Commerce issued the Opinions on Expanding Cross-Border E-Commerce Exports and Promoting the Construction of Overseas Warehouses to comprehensively promote paperless filing of overseas warehouse models, continue to deepen the comprehensive reform of cross-border e-commerce, and facilitate the high-quality development of cross-border e-commerce.

On October 21, in the warehouses of cross-border e-commerce enterprises in Guangzhou Nansha Comprehensive Bonded Zone, a fully automated assembly line for cross-border e-commerce export goods consolidation was running at full speed, and returned cross-border e-commerce export goods that met the conditions for resale were reorganized and sold online. After overseas consumers repurchase on cross-border e-commerce platforms, these commodities will be shipped to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport together with the newly sold goods, and then delivered to overseas consumers.

The problem of "difficulty in returning goods" during cross-border online shopping has once become a difficult one for consumers and CBEC export enterprises. In response to this problem, Guangzhou Customs District has innovatively launched the business model of cross-border e-commerce export consolidation in special customs supervision areas, which supports enterprises to return returned overseas export e-commerce goods to Guangzhou Nansha Comprehensive Bonded Zone and complete unpacking, sorting, shelving, storage, re-export and other processes in a one-stop manner in the warehouse of the comprehensive bonded zone, creating conditions for the smooth realization of secondary sales.

"For goods from different sources, such as those returned overseas, purchased domestically and exported through cross-border e-commerce, Guangzhou Customs has launched an export consolidation mode, which greatly improves the efficiency of commodity distribution. At present, the company can export 120,000 cross-border e-commerce packages per day on average," said Huang Jinning, General Manager of Guangzhou Pincheng Logistics Co. , Ltd.

According to the statistics of Guangzhou Customs, the cross-border e-commerce export consolidation business mode can reduce logistics management costs for enterprises by 30%. In the first three quarters of this year, the import and export value under the cross-border e-commerce export consolidation mode in the special supervision area of Guangzhou Customs was about RMB 33.8 billion, with a year-on-year increase of more than 4 times.

Tariff guarantee insurance is an important measure for the customs to innovate tax guarantee reform.

On October 22, China's first batch of cross-border e-commerce retail import tariff guarantee insurance was officially launched. On the same day, Ningbo Jiannuo E-commerce Co., Ltd. submitted an application, and the insurance company issued a tax guarantee policy, which was reviewed online by Ningbo Customs and filed. The guaranteed amount is RMB 500,000, which can be directly used for tax deduction. During the guarantee period, enterprises only need to apply once for recyclable use.

"The company is mainly engaged in cross-border e-commerce retail import business. On average, thousands of small packages need to pay cross-border e-commerce retail import taxes every day. Previously, cash deposits were used as tax guarantees, which would occupy a large amount of liquidity. The use of tariff guarantee insurance now can greatly reduce the financial pressure on companies. " According to Liu Ruiqiang, head of business at Ningbo Jiannuo E-commerce Co., Ltd., the company bought insurance online and its guarantee was approved on the same day.

Regulatory innovation ——

Create a better institutional environment to support the steady growth of import and export

The "Resolution" of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposes to "step up reforms to integrate domestic and foreign trade, and actively respond to the trends of digital and green trade. We will develop new regulatory approaches for customs clearance, taxation, and foreign exchange and foster an institutional environment that is conducive to the development of new models and forms of trade."

At Chengdu International Railway Port in Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, containers loaded with TCL semi-finished LCD TVs and supporting parts will be transported to Poland by China-Europe railway expresses.

"We are interested in the efficient transportation system of Chengdu International Railway Port, so we have built a 'Chengdu + Europe' dual-factory production organization model." According to the relevant person in charge of TCL Optoelectronics Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd., TCL Chengdu factory produces modules and supplies other electronic bulk materials, which are transported by China-Europe railway expresses to Poland for assembly. The whole machine can be delivered to European markets within 3 days after production. In the future, TCL will become an important consumer electronics manufacturing base for the western market of China and the markets in Central Asia, West Asia, Central Europe and Central and Eastern Europe.

According to data from Chengdu Customs District P.R.CHINA, in the first nine months of this year, Sichuan's total import and export value reached 751.06 billion yuan, a record high for the same period, with exports of laptop computers and integrated circuits ranking among the top in China.

"With the accelerated construction of major platforms such as Western (Chengdu) Science City and Tianfu Laboratory, Sichuan's advantages in scientific and technological R&D innovation will further emerge. We will also launch targeted regulatory innovation measures to inject stronger momentum into the development of foreign trade industry," said Fang Xiang, Deputy Director of Chengdu Customs.

In Guangzhou, Huangpu Global Supply Chain Center is jointly built by the customs, local authorities and enterprises to realize one-stop supervision services of "cross-border logistics + customs clearance service". "We will embed customs supervision into enterprise logistics chain and industrial chain, support key enterprises to build group-type and regional global supply chain centers, and promote the innovative allocation of production factors," said Liu Huabing, Director of Luogang Customs affiliated to Huangpu Customs.

Tian Fang, Logistics Manager of Jabil Electronics (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. said: "Huangpu Global Supply Chain Center has reduced the cost and speeded up the logistics supply chain. The tally labor cost is 1/5 of that overseas, the warehousing cost is 1/3 of that overseas, and the efficiency has also been greatly improved. We have truly experienced the benefits and convenience brought by the reform."

Customs offices in various regions continued to promote the construction of Smart Customs and the "Smart Customs Power" campaign, continuously optimized the business environment, and improved supervision efficiency and service level.

Recently, under the supervision of Taicang Customs affiliated to Nanjing Customs, a batch of outdoor courtyard water treatment equipment of Oase Living Water (Taicang) Co., Ltd. was successfully exported to Germany through the "linkage unloading" mode.

"Shanghai Customs and Nanjing Customs have innovated a new supervision mode of Shanghai-Taicang integrated 'linked unloading' customs clearance, taking Taicang Port as an extension of Yangshan Port. Enterprises can quickly go aboard at Shanghai Yangshan Port after completing one application at Taicang Customs, saving about 400 yuan in logistics transportation costs for each container," said Xi Liqian, Customs Manager of Oase Living Water (Taicang) Co., Ltd.

"The fundamentals of China's economy and the favorable conditions of a broad market, strong resilience and great potential have not changed. The stock policy and incremental policy continue to work, and the positive factors for foreign trade development accumulate and increase. There is foundation and support for the steady growth of import and export in the fourth quarter. China's economy will continue to grow steadily and keep improving. We have the conditions and confidence to achieve the goal of stabilizing foreign trade throughout the year," said Wang Lingjun, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Customs.

 

 

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Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of People's Daily. The People's Daily version shall prevail.