China to further stabilize foreign trade in H2

BEIJING -- China will take a raft of measures to stabilize and improve the quality of foreign trade in the second half of the year (H2) to consolidate its resilience, a commerce official said Thursday.

In the first half of this year, China's foreign trade demonstrated strong resilience, overcoming the adverse effects of various factors at home and abroad, Shu Jueting, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, told a press conference.

Customs data showed that China's foreign trade in goods jumped 9.4 percent, year-on-year, on the high base of the same period last year to 19.8 trillion yuan ($2.94 trillion).

Noting that China's foreign trade will still face uncertain and unstable factors in the second half of the year, Shu said efforts would be made to stabilize market entities and secure production and circulation. Efforts will also assist companies in gaining more opportunities and foster new growth momentum through innovations.

The country will guide financial institutions to help foreign trade firms accurately cut costs, accelerate export tax rebates to ease enterprises' financial pressure, and facilitate matching shipping supply and demand to lower payments of companies in the sector.

China will shore up support for the production and operation of foreign trade firms and ensure a smooth flow of logistics on time to help the companies reduce costs in exports and imports, Shu said.

More work would guide foreign trade firms to expand the international market with existing free trade agreements. China will continue to organize international exhibitions, such as the China International Import Expo and the China Import and Export Fair, and encourage localities and industrial associations to hold online exhibits.

To cultivate new growth points in the sector, China will encourage the exports of innovative, green, and high-value-added products. Shu said China would keep expanding new business forms, including cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehousing, and speed up the growth of digital and green trade and related market entities.