Innovative firms eye stronger sales abroad
Compared with countries in Southeast Asia or other parts of the world, China has a complete supply chain support system. The country, backed by its capacity scale advantages, is capable of delivering goods within a short period and meeting overseas clients' demand for short-term replenishment of inventory, said Hong Junjie, vice-president of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.
Echoing that sentiment, Chen Bin, executive vice-president of the China Machinery Industry Federation in Beijing, said the Chinese market is able to greatly cut costs in innovation, logistics, market development and even raw material procurement for both domestic and global manufacturers. Its scale edge helps cut a crucial part of total manufacturing costs.
Eager to seize more market share from China's fast-growing trade in services, A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, a Danish shipping and logistics services provider, announced last week that it will build its first green and smart flagship logistics center in China.
With a total investment of $174 million, the project, located in the Lingang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2024.
"Shanghai plays a critical role in Maersk's global network. With Lingang's proximity to Yangshan port and its favorable free trade policies, this facility will provide agile and sustainable solutions, connecting and simplifying our customers' supply chains," said Caroline Wu, managing director of Maersk China.
China's foreign trade value rose 8.6 percent year-on-year to 38.34 trillion yuan ($5.5 trillion) during the January-November period this year, while foreign-funded companies in China saw their export value grow 2.4 percent year-on-year to 6.87 trillion yuan, said the General Administration of Customs.
Given the resilience and potential of the Chinese economy, the recent tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference called for stepping up the building of a modern industrial system, making breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields and improving the global competitiveness of China's traditional industries.
The meeting, which was held in Beijing on Dec 15 and 16, vowed that China will actively seek to join high-standard economic and trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement.
"To reach these goals, China will further adhere to standard economic and trade rules, create a more market-oriented and law-based business environment, and open even wider to multinational corporations next year," said Zhao Ping, deputy head of the Academy of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
"As there is fierce competition between the world's major economies over digital rules, if China joins DEPA, it will be able to bolster diversified, modular and adaptable digital rules that are more in line with the digital growth needs of developing countries, and small and medium-sized enterprises," she added.
With more provinces, such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong, enabling their export-oriented companies to secure more orders, Shu Jueting, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Commerce, said the government will support domestic cities to use charter and commercial flight resources to assist executives and sales staff of export-oriented companies in participating in exhibitions, conduct business discussions, and take part in other activities abroad.
The official added that the government, in the meantime, will optimize service measures for inbound personnel, and provide more assistance to representatives of foreign companies to visit China to do business.
The Ministry of Commerce will work with various local governments and business associations to help companies take part in various exhibitions, consider the possibilities of restarting offline exhibitions, and continue to cultivate high-quality online exhibitions, Shu said during an online news conference last week.
