Green foreign trade to fuel innovation-led expansion

Relevant policies were drawn up based on comprehensive research, analysis and assessment. These policies specify that when companies are unable to provide documentation after transporting their goods from coastal ports to destinations on inland rivers, data meeting specific criteria can serve as the basis for deduction claims.

Wang Yinghui, a division head at the GAC's duty collection department, said this policy has been implemented effectively at ports in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

"The policy of deducting inland river freight charges will be extended to the entire inland river basin in China, including the Pearl River and Minjiang River, benefiting more than 1,000 import companies. It is projected to save importers more than 67 million yuan ($9.3 million) on an annual basis," she said.

Despite facing challenges posed by a complex global environment, China's foreign trade reached 20.1 trillion yuan in the first half of this year, a 2.1 percent year-on-year rise. It was the first time the nation's foreign trade value had exceeded 20 trillion yuan during a half-year period, GAC data showed.

Early this month, the GAC unveiled 15 policy measures to support growth of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in an attempt to boost China's trade with fellow signatories of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, agreement and expand interaction with trading partners worldwide.

Wu Haiping, director-general of the GAC's general operations department, said the new measures include better linking the land-sea trade corridor with booming China-Europe freight train services and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. They also help domestic companies to benefit fully from the RCEP agreement by further fostering smoother and more efficient trade routes connecting western China with key seaports and rail hubs in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

Launched in 2017, the land-sea corridor is a trade and logistics passage jointly established by provincial-level regions in western China and member economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It is also one of the key projects of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Li Dongyu, deputy head of the GAC's ideological and political affairs office, said a leadership group with six sub-working groups has been established to urge all Party members to comprehensively study and promote high-quality development and advance Chinese modernization through the thematic education campaign. The subgroups include those covering documentation, publicity, rectification and improvement.

The leadership group had held several high-level meetings and conducted numerous field research trips and study activities nationwide by the end of July, to improve the GAC's governance capacity in advancing toward the goal of national rejuvenation through the Chinese path toward modernization.

Chen Jianqi, a professor at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (National Academy of Governance), said the Party's 20th National Congress in October drew up a blueprint for comprehensively building a modern socialist country. However, achieving this objective remains a challenging task for the Party and the nation.

As a result, it is vital for CPC officials to adeptly comprehend the principles of the Party's novel theories, Chen said, adding that such comprehension is essential to strengthen the officials' ability to effectively respond to the population's pressing needs and overcome complex challenges that need resolving.