The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) has recently approved 15 overseas economic and trade exhibition projects out of a total of 35 to boost exports, which face downward pressure amid weak external demand and domestic Covid-19 flare-ups. The CCPIT said it remains confident about the steady and qualitative development of China's foreign trade. The CCPIT noted that it is actively promoting and approving overseas exhibition projects for key countries, industries and exhibitions, in order to help enterprises gain orders, expand their markets, and promote the stability and quality of foreign trade. The 15 trade exhibitions are to be held in eight countries including Germany, the U.S. and the UAE, between November and February 2023, Sun Xiao, Spokesperson for the CCPIT, said at a press conference. The themes of the projects include textiles, auto parts, sports goods, electronics and consumer goods, with the exhibition scale ranging from 100 square meters to 10,000 square meters, Sun noted.
A total of 35 overseas trade exhibitions have been planned in 14 countries, including Iran, Germany, the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Italy, Australia, France, the UAE, Russia, Japan, India, Bangladesh and Spain. Efforts will also be made to optimize trade and investment services, and guide enterprises to make the best use of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and other free trade agreements, the CCPIT said. In the first 10 months of 2022, China's trade councils issued 4.411 million certificates of origin, ATA Carnets and commercial certificates to promote foreign trade, an increase of 4.56% over the previous year, according to the CCPIT. The organization said it will also guide enterprises to protect their legitimate rights in the face of U.S. sanctions, the negative impact of the Ukraine crisis, and international economic and trade friction. It also urged the U.S. to review the Section 301 tariffs in a fair and just manner and take this chance to stop imposing additional tariffs on Chinese goods, which is hurting U.S. manufacturers, workers and consumers.
Chinese foreign trade enterprises are facing multiple challenges of weakening external demand, rising costs and insufficient orders against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and global geopolitical tensions. China's foreign trade rose 9.5% year-on-year in the first 10 months in yuan terms, maintaining steady growth despite weakening demand abroad and geopolitical uncertainties. Wu Chaoming, Deputy Dean of the Chasing Research Institute, told the Global Times that due to high global inflation and production costs, domestic products will have a relative cost advantage. Wu expects the integrity of China's industrial chain to play a prominent role in filling the global capacity gap, as a slow economic recovery and energy shortages weigh on European industrial production.
