The national teleconference on foreign trade was held in Beijing on February 26, 2015. Vice Premier Wang Yang attended and addressed the meeting. Also attending and addressing the meeting was Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng.
Gao said that at the beginning of the lunar new year, the State Council approved the holding of the national teleconference on foreign trade and Vice Premier Wang Yang attended the meeting and delivered an important speech in person, fully reflecting that foreign trade is highly valued by the Central Committee and the State Council.
Gao said that in 2014, China’s foreign trade sustained steady growth.Our position as the largest trader was consolidated, international market share was improved, new highlights took on along with the transformation and structure adjustment of foreign trade, trade and investment interaction became distinct, innovation driving is becoming a new force to boost the growth of foreign trade, new emerging markets such as the Belt and Road Initiatives boast broad prospect and domestic demands for imports enjoy great potential, laying a sound basis for a sustainable and steady growth of foreign trade in 2015. The commercial authorities across the country should be fully aware of new opportunities and challenges along with foreign trade development and genuinely consolidate confidence in doing a good job in foreign trade in 2015.
Gao stressed the foreign trade situation in 2015 will still be serious and complex, He said the commercial authorities across the country should genuinely understand and implement the speech by Vice Premier Wang Yang and the spirit of the teleconference, be able to see positive factors and beneficial conditions of promoting foreign trade growth, and fully predict difficulties and challenges in the face of present foreign trade as well. Great efforts will be made to implement policies on foreign trade well, clear and regulate export charges together with relevant departments, further trade facilitation, perfect export rebate mechanism and improve trade financing service. We should accelerate the cultivation of new competitive advantages, firmly insist on transformation and structure adjustment, and seek innovation driving so as to constantly increase the quality and efficiency of foreign trade development. Work will be done to strengthen coordination with relevant departments and local governments, perfect the inter-departmental and cross-regional coordination mechanism and intensify the joint force of promoting foreign trade development. Efforts will be made to create a sound business environment, strengthen the sense of service, take the initiative to solve difficulties for foreign trade enterprises, genuinely do the service work well so as to maintain a steady growth of foreign trade in 2015, raise foreign trade growth to a new step and make positive contributions to the national economy and social development.
Vice Minister of Finance Hu Jinglin, Head of the General Administration of Customs Yu Guangzhou and Head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Zhi Shuping also delivered speeches in the main venue.
Hu Jinglin said the Ministry of Finance will push forward with perfecting the export tax rebate sharing mechanism, implement tax preference policies and universally tax reduction policies, increase the export rebate rates of some high value-added products, corn processing products and textiles and clothing, carry out the departure tax refund for overseas shoppers in eligible regions, carry out zero tax of value added or tax exemption on exports of service and begin to clear and regulate the operation and service charges in import and export nationwide along with relevant departments. Efforts will be done to optimize the focus and ways of financial support, upgrade quality and efficiency of foreign trade, make use of policy financial instruments like export credit insurance to improve the financing environment of foreign trade and promote the steady and sound development of foreign trade.
Yu Guangzhou said the General Administration of Customs will conduct regional customs clearance integration reforms nationwide from May 1, 2015, popularize the “one single window” pilot in coastal ports, deepen the customs-inspection cooperation of “one-off declaration, one-off inspection and one-off clearance” , make customs clearance paperless reforms cover all spots and areas of customs business this year, optimize the inspection mechanism, further improve the pertinence and efficiency of inspection, reform the tax collection and administration modes, popularize the concentrated taxation overall, and make use of various means of taxes, bond and administration to promote the development of new emerging businesses such as cross-border e-commerce and market sourcing.
Zhi Shuping said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine will launch a specific campaign of improving the quality of key products and exports, develop and popularize a batch of Chinese brands and positively enhance mutual recognition of testing results and standards and the international network verification of inspection and quarantine certificates. Efforts will be made to accelerate the registration and approval of foreign export enterprises in food industry, cancel the filing of imported used mechanical and electrical products, encourage the building of processing and industrial parks for imported recycled resources, increase the number of designated certification organizations, expand the scope of imports pre-inspection and the adoption of inspection results made by a third party and extend the range of inspection and quarantine for imported products. Work will be done to accelerate the researches and online operation of customs-inspection “one-off declaration”, promote the establishment of the information exchange standards of shipping manifest, further advance paperless declaration of inspection and quarantine, improve the efficiency of release for enterprises with high credit rating and realize the inspection and quarantine integration nationwide as soon as possible.
Attending the meeting in the main venue were 200 representatives from the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, the People’s Bank of China, the State Administration of Taxation, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Research Office of the State Council, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the China Council for the Promotion of International trade, the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation.
