Market access widened, tariffs cut 
2019-11-29
CHINA yesterday reiterated its pledge to further widen market access for foreign capital and lower non-tariff trade barriers.
In a document that laid out areas for improvement, the State Council, the country’s Cabinet, said trade with neighboring countries would increase, cooperation with countries signed up to its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative would deepen and Chinese firms would further expand into markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America, according to a report by Xinhua news agency yesterday.
By 2022, China aims to have an optimized trade structure and a notable improvement in trade efficiency, and set up an evaluation system for high-quality trade development, according to the document.
The guideline stressed the need to speed up the development of modern services, especially production-related services, while modern services should be deeply integrated with the advanced manufacturing industry.
China will gradually advance from processing and manufacturing to research and design, marketing services and brand management, generating more added value through exports.
The role of foreign capital as a driver for the country’s industrial upgrade and high quality development of trade will be maximized, said the State Council, adding that Beijing would increase policy support to boost trade.
China will also further lower import tariffs and boost imports of agricultural goods and services, while pledging to step up the protection of intellectual property rights by increasing punishment for infringements.
The guideline also urged coordinating the development of trade and the environment, with strict control over the export of high-polluting and high energy consumption products.
Meanwhile, China will step up the construction of comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zones, and actively participate in the formulation of rules for the global digital economy and digital trade.
China aims to make the China International Import Expo more globally influential and attractive, and expand the functions of comprehensive fairs such as the China Import and Export Fair and the China International Fair for Trade in Services.
The guideline also called for promoting the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization in the domestic market and building a world-leading and fair business environment.
China’s exports contracted for a third straight month in October, while imports shrank for the sixth consecutive month.
Beijing will accelerate efforts to build an export control system to manage trade risks, the government said without elaborating, adding it would continue to call for relevant countries to relax export controls on China.
