China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) is stepping up efforts to promote the integration of domestic and foreign trade, assisting foreign trade enterprises in expanding domestic sales. It will guide industry associations, key supermarkets, and e-commerce platforms to leverage their market, channel, and brand advantages, and collaborate with foreign trade enterprises to overcome challenges together. Starting from May 1, JD.com will invest CNY200 billion in large-scale procurement of export-oriented goods for domestic sales in order to accelerate the construction of a system for transitioning exports to the domestic market. In addition, over 10 e-commerce platforms including Alibaba, Hema Fresh and Vipshop announced that they will implement eight key initiatives, including providing dedicated foreign trade zones and green channels, aiming to deliver high-quality foreign trade products to households nationwide. Seven Chinese industry associations, including the China General Chamber of Commerce, China Chain Store & Franchise Association, China Commerce Association for General Merchandise, and China Cuisine Association jointly issued an initiative to promote the integration of domestic and foreign trade and expand the domestic market.
The initiative document said that recently, the U.S. government has wielded tariffs as a weapon to implement extreme pressure and pursue self-interest, which severely violates the legitimate rights and interests of all nations, contravenes WTO rules, undermines the rule-based multilateral trading system, disrupts the global economic order, harms the interests of enterprises and consumers, and destabilizes global industrial and supply chains. Such hegemonic and bullying behavior should be severely condemned, and we firmly support all the counter-measures taken by the Chinese government to safeguard national interests and the rights and interests of enterprises. At present, expanding the domestic market, promoting the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, and facilitating the shift of export-oriented goods to domestic sales have become an urgent priority, read the initiative.
In response to the difficulties of foreign trade enterprises whose domestic sales channels have not yet been fully established, commodity markets, department stores, supermarket chains, e-commerce platforms and other wholesale and retail enterprises should open green channels, set up special zones and counters for the domestic sale of foreign trade products, and organize exhibitions and sales activities for foreign trade products, so as to provide a platform for the display and sales of foreign trade enterprises, according to the initiative. Enterprises in the catering and hotel business should give priority to purchasing standard-compliant equipment and facilities, foreign trade foodstuffs, tableware and drinking utensils, and hotel supplies, so as to broaden the domestic sales channels for foreign trade products.
The e-commerce and live-streaming industries should take measures to set up special zones for foreign trade commodities on platforms or promote sales by means of live-streaming. At the same time, enterprises are encouraged to take advantage of their own channels to carry out promotional activities integrating online and offline, so as to enhance the market awareness and sales for foreign trade products, the Global Times reports.
