The situation of foreign trade is complicated and severe, the State Council issued a document to promote the growth of foreign trade.

Several Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Supporting the Stable Growth of Foreign Trade

Guo Ban Fa [2014] No. 19

The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, ministries and commissions under the State Council, and their respective agencies:

At present, the foreign trade situation is complicated and severe, and it is necessary to make painstaking efforts to achieve the expected goals for the whole year. In order to support the steady growth of foreign trade, with the approval of the State Council, the following opinions are proposed:

First, focus on optimizing the structure of foreign trade

(1) Further strengthen imports. We will continue to deepen the reform of the foreign trade management system and further reduce the types of goods that are automatically imported. Accelerate the cultivation of national import trade to promote innovation demonstration zones, and give full play to the demonstration and driving role of import trade agglomeration zones to expand imports. Actively support the import of advanced technology equipment and key components such as digital and intelligent. We will expand imports of domestically scarce resources and reasonably increase imports of general consumer goods that are closely related to the lives of the people. Combined with the elimination of outdated production capacity, the crude oil processing enterprises that meet the conditions are given the crude oil import and use qualifications, and the crude oil import channels are expanded. Accelerate the implementation of the free trade zone strategy. (Ministry of Commerce, Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, General Administration of Customs, State Administration of Taxation, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine)

(2) Maintaining steady growth in trade in goods. We will strengthen general trade, increase the proportion of general trade in goods trade, stabilize the export of traditional superior products, and support the export of products with intellectual property rights, brands, marketing networks, high-tech content, high added value, and high efficiency. We will upgrade processing trade, revise catalogues of prohibited and restricted commodities in processing trade, improve processing trade policies, innovate processing trade patterns, and increase the gradient of processing trade, forming a new pattern of transformation and upgrading of coastal areas and orderly acceptance of inland areas. Develop other trade and expand border trade. (Ministry of Commerce, General Administration of Customs)

(3) Supporting the development of trade in services. Make full use of the existing special fund policy and increase support for the development of trade in services. Gradually expand service imports. In conjunction with the expansion of the scope of the “reform of the camp”, zero-tax or tax-free tariffs on service exports will be introduced to encourage service exports. Encourage policy-based financial institutions to increase support for service trade within the scope of their business and support the construction of key projects in service trade. Establish and improve the port customs clearance management mode that is compatible with the characteristics of service trade. (Responsible for the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration of Taxation)

(4) Give play to the trade promotion role of “going out”. Accelerate the construction of interconnected infrastructure with neighboring countries. Promote the construction of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones. Encourage enterprises to invest in overseas investment by means of greenfield investment and mergers and acquisitions, and promote the transfer of some industries to overseas. Take comprehensive measures to support enterprises to carry out international cooperation and project contracting of major projects, and drive China's equipment, materials, products, standards, technologies and services to “go global”. Support enterprises to carry out mergers and acquisitions of overseas brands, technologies and production lines to enhance international competitiveness. (Ministry of Commerce, Development and Reform Commission)

Second, further improve the foreign trade environment

(5) Improve the level of trade facilitation. Further optimize the methods of supervision and control, improve the pertinence and effectiveness of customs inspections, promote the pilot of regional customs clearance integration, promote paperless customs clearance operations, and speed up customs clearance. Accelerate the construction of electronic ports, implement the "single window" acceptance of international trade, and comprehensively promote "one declaration, one inspection, one release" to realize information sharing between port departments and local governments. Further reduce administrative approval projects, simplify procedures, and reduce the types of goods subject to export commodity inspection. We will rectify and standardize the operational services and charges for import and export, and reduce the burden on enterprises. (Ministry of Commerce, General Administration of Customs, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Ministry of Finance, Development and Reform Commission)

(6) Standardizing the order of import and export operations. Give full play to the role of early warning, organization and coordination of industry associations, strengthen industry self-discipline, standardize corporate behavior, prevent vicious competition, and strive to create an international and legal business environment. Establish a database of foreign trade enterprise credit records, disciplining and losing trust, combating fraud, and promoting the establishment of a credit system for foreign trade enterprises. (Ministry of Commerce, Development and Reform Commission)

(7) Strengthen trade friction response. Actively support enterprises to respond to anti-dumping and countervailing investigations. Strengthen trade frictions and respond to the construction of work teams, and give full play to the role of economic trade and international legal experts. Strengthen trade friction response overall coordination and departmental cooperation, and strive to reduce the negative impact of trade friction on the development of international trade. Improve trade remedy legislation and conduct trade remedy investigations in accordance with the law. (Ministry of Commerce)

Third, strengthen policy protection

(8) Further improve the formation mechanism of the RMB exchange rate marketization. Further play the role of the market in the formation of the RMB exchange rate, enhance the two-way floating flexibility of the RMB exchange rate, and maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level. Financial institutions are encouraged to develop safe-haven products that meet the needs of the development of the real economy, helping enterprises to effectively avoid exchange rate risks. (People's Bank is responsible)

(9) Promote RMB settlement of cross-border trade. Expand the scale of cross-border RMB settlement, accelerate the use of RMB in cross-border trade and investment, promote the development of the RMB direct trading market in other currencies, and better serve the settlement of cross-border trade RMB. (People's Bank is responsible)

(10) Improve financing services. Further expand the financing channels for import and export enterprises and encourage commercial banks to carry out import and export credit business. In accordance with the principle of risk control and commercial sustainability, we will actively innovate financial products and services, continue to carry out export credit insurance policy financing, and increase financial support for foreign trade enterprises with orders and benefits. Actively develop financial leasing. We will improve the global credit management of Chinese-funded financial institutions, strengthen cooperation with export enterprises in key industries, and steadily extend supply chain financing to overseas. (People's Bank, Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, China Banking Regulatory Commission, Ministry of Commerce, Foreign Exchange Bureau)

(11) Increase support for export credit insurance. Expand the scale and coverage of export credit insurance, and increase support for brand products, service trade, international marketing networks and small and micro enterprises. Encourage insurance companies to expand their short-term export credit insurance business and further increase the short-term export credit insurance business. Under the premise of risk control, the export financing of large-scale complete sets of equipment should be guaranteed; the foreign exchange reserve entrusted loan platform should be used to take effective measures to reduce the export financing cost of large-scale complete sets of equipment. (Responsible for the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, and Foreign Exchange Bureau)

(12) Improve the export tax rebate policy. Increase the central government's subsidies for areas with heavy export tax rebates, further accelerate the progress of export tax rebates, and ensure timely and full tax rebates. Timely expansion of the scope of pilot tax rebates for export of finance leased goods. At the same time, increase efforts to crack down on tax rebates. (Responsible by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration of Taxation)

Fourth, enhance the competitiveness of foreign trade enterprises

(13) Support the development of various foreign trade enterprises. Accelerate the construction of foreign trade production bases and promote the transformation of foreign trade development mode. Support the development of foreign trade integrated service enterprises and provide professional services for the export of small and micro enterprises. Support the development of private, small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises. Guide foreign trade enterprises to adjust their structure, mergers and acquisitions, improve quality and efficiency, and accelerate the formation of multinational enterprise groups with core competitiveness. (Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Information Technology, Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs, State Administration of Taxation, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and Foreign Exchange Bureau)

(14) Innovate and improve various trading platforms. Accelerate the construction of trade platforms such as international exhibitions, e-commerce, domestic and foreign trade combined with commodity markets. Expand the pilot scope of the “market procurement” approach. Introduce cross-border e-commerce trade facilitation measures. Encourage enterprises to set up various international marketing networks such as wholesale display centers, commodity markets, specialty stores, and “overseas warehouses” overseas. (Ministry of Commerce, Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs, State Administration of Taxation, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and Foreign Exchange Bureau)

Fifth, strengthen organizational leadership

(15) Further raise awareness. Foreign trade development is not only essential for stabilizing growth and ensuring employment, but also conducive to promoting the deep integration of China's economy and the world economy. All regions and departments must comprehensively and accurately grasp the foreign trade situation, take into account the current and long-term, take decisive and effective measures to stimulate the vitality of market players, boost the confidence of foreign trade enterprises, and promote the steady growth of imports and exports.

(16) Do a good job in implementing policies and measures. Local people's governments at various levels and all departments must attach great importance to foreign trade work, take care of the overall situation, and act actively. We will continue to deepen reform, expand openness, further transform functions, simplify administration and decentralization, strengthen service awareness, and improve service levels for foreign trade enterprises, especially small and micro enterprises. Local people's governments at all levels should, according to the needs of the situation and local conditions, introduce targeted supporting measures to form a policy synergy. All relevant departments should promptly formulate specific work plans according to this opinion and clarify the time limit requirements. The Ministry of Commerce should send a working group to preach policies, strengthen guidance, supervise and inspect, and ensure that all policies and measures are in place.

Office of the State Council

May 4, 2014