China, in 2022, made full use of major trade fairs such as the China International Import Expo (CIIE) to stabilize its foreign trade, according to the latest Government Work Report, which was delivered at the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress that opened on March 5. 

This is the sixth consecutive year that the CIIE has been mentioned in the Government Work Report. 

When delivering the report, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that China has remained committed to opening up its doors wider to the world over the past five years and expanding international economic and trade cooperation to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes. 

Some examples he listed was the development of new forms of foreign trade, the building of 152 new integrated pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce and the establishment of overseas warehouses. Meanwhile, the time required for tax refund and customs clearance has been further reduced, and the overall tariff level fell from 9.8 percent to 7.4 percent over the last five years.

The country has also been proactive about utilizing foreign investment by expanding market access, further opening up the services sector, improving services for foreign-funded companies, and facilitating the launch of large foreign-funded projects, he noted. There are presently 21 pilot free trade zones in China, and steady strides are being made in the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

Li also pointed out that China has been furthering the Belt and Road Initiative by cultivating new cooperation opportunities with other economies.

Over the past five years, six free trade agreements were newly concluded or upgraded, and the share of trade with China's free trade partners had increased from 26 percent to around 35 percent of China's total trade volume.

Sources: Xinhua

By Zhao Guangmei