Diversified layout to hedge risks; China's foreign trade benefits the world

The diversified development of China's foreign trade not only provides abundant intermediate goods supply and broader market opportunities for enterprises in various countries, but also injects stability and vitality into the world economy, "said Lv Yue, a professor at the National Institute of Opening up and Executive Dean of the Institute of Global Innovation and Governance at the University of International Business and Economics, in an interview with reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network. Against the backdrop of further increasing instability and uncertainty in the world economy this year, China has continuously consolidated its trade diversification pattern, which has had a positive impact on enterprises in various countries and the world economy in multiple aspects.
Since the beginning of this year, China's foreign trade has been steadily growing and its partners have become increasingly diverse. The latest data released by the General Administration of Customs shows that in the first eight months of this year, China's goods trade continued to grow steadily, with a total import and export value of 29.57 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%. Among them, exports amounted to 17.61 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.9%; Imports amounted to 11.96 trillion yuan, a decrease of 1.2%, narrowing the decline by 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous seven months. In August, the total import and export value of China's goods trade was 3.87 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.5%. Among them, exports amounted to 2.3 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.8%; Imports reached 1.57 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.7%, and exports and imports achieved double growth for three consecutive months.
In Lv Yue's view, facing a complex and ever-changing external environment, there are three main reasons why China's foreign trade can rise against the trend and maintain steady development: the strong resilience of the industrial and supply chains, the rapid development of new forms and models of foreign trade, and the active implementation of policy combinations. China's complete industrial and supply chain advantages have enhanced its foreign trade resilience and export competitiveness. China has the world's most complete manufacturing system, with its manufacturing scale consistently ranking first in the world for many years. Intermediate goods trade in the manufacturing industry plays an important role in the global industrial division of labor and supply chain system. In particular, China's "new three" products such as electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products meet the green transformation needs of various countries, becoming a new export advantage for China. When the international supply chain is blocked, the completeness and rapid response capability of China's industrial chain also ensure the stable production and supply of exported products. In addition, the vigorous development of new models such as cross-border e-commerce and market procurement trade has injected new vitality into foreign trade, and more and more "Made in China" are using cross-border e-commerce. Entering the international consumer goods market

Lv Yue stated that the series of policies introduced by China this year to stabilize foreign trade and promote development are also important factors in promoting stable growth of foreign trade. In response to the changing global trade market environment this year, China has implemented a series of policies such as export transformation subsidies and tax reduction optimization to reduce the burden and increase efficiency for foreign trade enterprises, and significantly enhance export support. The improvement of policies such as departure tax rebates has also given rise to a trend of 'reverse purchasing' in the context of tariff competition, which not only enhances the experience of overseas consumers but also helps Chinese enterprises expand their overseas markets

It is worth noting that in the first eight months of this year, China's trade links with countries in the European Union, ASEAN, Africa, Latin America and other regions remained strong. According to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs on September 8, in the first eight months of this year, China's imports and exports to the EU, ASEAN, BRICS countries, Africa and countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" have all increased. Among them, as China's largest trading partner, the total trade value between ASEAN and China is 4.93 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.7%; The EU is China's second largest trading partner, with a total trade value of 3.88 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.3%. Over the same period, China's imports and exports to countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" totaled 15.3 trillion yuan, up 5.4%.
China actively explores diversified markets, providing rich intermediate goods supply and broader market opportunities for enterprises from various countries. "Lv Yue analyzed to reporters that relying on China's complete industrial system and efficient and stable supply chain advantages, enterprises from various countries can significantly reduce procurement and production costs and accelerate integration into the global value chain by conducting intermediate goods trade with China. In addition, China's insistence on expanding high-level opening up has also provided a huge market dividend for enterprises from various countries. China maintains an important strategic position in the global layout of multinational corporations, and more multinational enterprises are actively establishing localized supply chain systems in China to enhance price competitiveness and market responsiveness. Even in the face of uncertain factors such as international market tariff conflicts, companies from various countries still find it difficult to shake off their dependence on China's supply chain and market.

The data released by the Ministry of Commerce in July this year confirms this judgment. Data shows that from January to May this year, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in China reached 24018, a year-on-year increase of 10.4%. This figure fully demonstrates the sustained optimism of foreign investment towards the Chinese market. High tech industries have become a key area for foreign investment inflows. In the first five months of this year, the actual use of foreign investment in high-tech industries reached 109.04 billion yuan, among which the actual use of foreign investment in e-commerce services, aerospace and equipment manufacturing, chemical drug manufacturing, and medical equipment and device manufacturing increased by 146%, 74.9%, 59.2%, and 20% respectively. The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce revealed that some multinational companies are adjusting their investment scale and business structure in China, actively adapting to the trend of domestic industrial upgrading in China. This adjustment of investment structure indicates that foreign-funded enterprises not only value the scale advantage of the Chinese market, but also attach greater importance to China's development potential in technological innovation and industrial upgrading.
In Lv Yue's view, the diversified development of China's trade has also injected stability and vitality into the world economy. "Against the background of the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, China has adhered to multilateralism and continued to expand its high-level opening up, constantly consolidated the pattern of trade diversification, and continuously strengthened its trade ties with the EU, ASEAN and countries jointly building the" the Belt and Road ", which not only promoted China's own economic prosperity, but also reduced the dependence of the global trading system on the single market, effectively alleviated the impact of changes in the economic and trade environment, and became a solid support for the global economic recovery. China's foreign trade diversification has also enabled more developing countries to deeply participate in the global value chain, and promoted the development of the global economy to a more inclusive and inclusive direction."
The fact proves that the tariff war and trade war cannot shake the comparative advantage accumulated by China's manufacturing industry over the long term, cannot change the fact that China's high-quality products are renowned worldwide, and cannot reverse the trend of supporting trade liberalization and facilitation in various countries around the world. "As Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press conference on September 17," Building walls and barriers will ultimately only trap oneself, and opening the door to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results