Cross-border e-commerce to boost foreign trade for China

Workers sort parcels at a delivery company in Fuyang, Anhui province. [Photo/China Daily]

The decision of the executive meeting of the State Council on Jan 6, 2015 will extend the range of use on the rules of cross-border e-commerce.

“It is exactly the time to expand cross-border e-commerce actively and steadily”, said Bai Ming, the deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce of the International Market Research Institute. “The booming development of cross-border e-commerce is a good foundation for the promotion of Hangzhou experiences.

The meeting gives two models of promoting the experiences: one is to build a system that includes information sharing, online financial services, intelligent logistics, e-commerce credit system, statistical monitoring system and risk prevention and control system. Another is to build an online “single window” platform and offline “comprehensive park” platform to exchange information, mutually recognize supervision, receive law enforcement assistance, gather logistics, finance and other supporting facilities and services between government departments and to create a complete industrial chain and ecosystem for cross-border e-commerce.

Bai Ming mentioned that the two models of promoting experiences will benefit cross-border e-commerce enterprises. On the one hand, the online “single window” adds “Internet plus” into the government streamlining and promotes trade facilitation. It will increase the efficiency of customs clearance and lower costs for the enterprise. This is reflected in supply-side economics. On the other hand, the establishment of finance, logistics, credit, risk prevention and control systems broke the information blockade between different departments and regions and enables information sharing. It is helpful to form an open and competitive market system.

Cross-border e-commerce and other new business models have become a bright spot for foreign trade. Wang Dongtang, the deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce's foreign trade department, said that the cross-border e-commerce exports have increased more than 30%, and the trade of market procurement has risen by more than 70% since 2015. It drove a large number of small enterprises’ exports and has become a new point of trade growth. Cross-border e-commerce has made a positive contribution to the stability of employment.