Business丨Policy steps to sustain trade momentum

China will roll out a raft of well-focused policy steps to sustain the sound momentum of its foreign trade, which has been resilient and stable in the first eight months of the year despite sluggish global economic and trade growth, said the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing on Thursday.

▲This aerial photo taken on Sept 12, 2023 shows a view of the container terminal of Haikou Port in Haikou, South China's Hainan province. [Photo/Xinhua]

"The country will fine-tune its policy mix to address the pressing concerns facing enterprises. Targeted measures to advance the development of processing trade and shore up the growth of services trade and digital trade, for instance, will be introduced," said He Yadong, a spokesman of the ministry, at a news conference.

Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the China Association of Policy Science's Economic Policy Committee in Beijing, said the country should make greater efforts to diversify its export basket, in a bid to mitigate risks, capitalize on emerging opportunities and sustain long-term growth.

Rising geopolitical tensions, stubbornly high inflation abroad and weakening global demand have dealt a blow to global trade in goods, with China being no exception. Therefore, China should foster new drivers of trade growth, as highlighted by services trade and digital trade, since they boast huge potential to tap into, Xu said.

China's foreign trade, affected by a combination of economic and non-economic factors, has been under constant strain and encountered a severe and complex situation in recent months. Faced with risks and challenges, foreign trade enterprises have risen to the occasion by actively exploring international markets, He said.

Furthermore, the Chinese government has put in place stronger and more effective policies to stabilize foreign trade, which helped remove bottlenecks at a faster pace, scale up product competitiveness and contribute to sustained growth in exports, He said.

With such efforts, China's foreign trade has withstood various pressures, demonstrating strong resilience and maintaining generally stable operations, as evidenced by positive signs in recent Customs data, He said.

China's exports increased 0.8 percent year-on-year to 15.47 trillion yuan ($2.12 trillion) in the first eight months. Exports grew 1.2 percent month-on-month in August, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.

Meanwhile, the Chinese market continues to hold strong appeal for foreign investors, with many executives from multinational companies recently vowing during their visits to increase their investments in China and deepen their presence in the market, He said.

The ministry, together with relevant departments, will implement the guidelines aimed at further optimizing the environment for foreign investment and provide a greater sense of fulfillment for foreign enterprises operating in China, He said.

Additionally, efforts will be made to trim the negative list as appropriate, improve services for foreign investment promotion and extend equal treatment to foreign enterprises, He said, adding that China will unwaveringly advance high-standard opening-up and remain a popular destination for foreign investment.