The committee of China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) held the achievement release conference for the 4th CIFTIS in China International Convention Center on the afternoon of June 1. Vice Minister of Commerce Fang Aiqing attended and addressed the meeting.
Fang Aiqing said in the first four months, China’s trade in services has maintained a sound momentum of rapid development and there are four highlights. First, the trade size saw rapid growth and the trade in services took up higher percentage among the foreign trade. In January-April, the imports and exports of trade in services amounted to US$257.02 billion, going up 16.8% year on year, taking up 18.9% of China’s foreign trade, with 3.5 percentage points higher than that in 2015. Second, the trade structure was further optimized, the new emerging areas like the R&D and technical service grew rapidly. In January-April, the imports and exports of technology, IPR royalties and R&D service registered US$21.48 billion, taking up 8.4% of the total and ranking the third. Telecommunications, computer and information service sustained a rapid growth of US$8.84 billion exports value, going up 19.1% year on year. Third, the cross-border supply became easier, BPO (business process outsourcing) like the supply chain management and data processing took the lead. In January-April, the contract value of service outsourcing signed by the Chinese enterprises registered US$42.74 billion, going up 23.9% year on year. The growth of supply chain outsourcing, data processing and call center service all grew by over 50%, leading a growth of BPO by more than 15%. Fourth, the international market is stable and the potential of countries along the “belt and road” continued to unleash. The imports and exports of service from China’s Hong Kong, EU, US, Japan, ASEAN, ROK and Australia took up more than 70%. The executed contract value of service outsourcing that China undertook in the countries along the “belt and road” amounted to US$2.54 billion, taking up 14.6% of the total executed contract value.
Fang Aiqing said that the Chinese government attaches much importance to the development of trade in service. During the period of the 13th five-year plan, China’s trade in service will embrace the “five major opportunities” to promote the rapid growth. Firstly, the new round of opening-up in service sector has extended the development of trade in service. The Chinese government has begun to advance a new round of high level opening-up, mainly in service sector. Efforts have been made to explore the expansion of the opening-up in service sector in four free trade zones including Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong and Fujian as well as Beijing, steadily advance the “belt and road” construction and accelerate the construction of a network of free trade zones with high standard facing the globe. Secondly, strengthening the side structural reforms of supply has optimized the structure of trade in service. During the period of the 12th five-year plan, the percentage that China’s service sector took up in the national economy has risen to 51% from 43%. The service sector has held up half of the sky of the national economy and become the main power and new engine to pull the economic growth. Strengthening the side structural reforms of supply will lead the emerging service sector to speed up and promote the structural adjustment of the service sector. Thirdly, the robust development of information technology has enriched the ways to provide trade in service. Big data, Internet of things, cloud computing, and mobile Internet have provided various ways for trade in service and its forms of organization, business modes, means of exchange and trading objects have been undergoing profound changes, the innovation vigor of the market players have been further unleashed and the innovation of mode tends to be active. Fourthly, the development of the global value chains has raised the strategic position of trade in service. It connects all links among the global value chains and plays a more and more important role as a binder. 80% economic aggregate and 48% of the added-value of the manufacturing in OECD member countries come from the service sector. The world’s 20% service export has made almost half of the added-value of the global foreign trade. Fifthly, the improvement of policies has given new vigor to the development of trade in service. The State Council released three documents to support the development of trade in services. The improvement of supportive policies is conducive to the environment for the development of trade in services.
Fang Aiqing stressed the MOFCOM will carry out the work focusing on “expanding the scale, optimizing the structure, strengthening the vigor, consolidating the basis and promoting the balance” and take six new measures to improve the ability of service exports. Firstly, establish new system for the development of trade in service. Efforts will be made to have a try in management system, promotion mechanism, policy and system, and monitoring modes. This relies on the construction of the pilots for the innovative development of trade in services. The aim is to acquire the experiences that can be passed to others and to accelerate the establishment of the new system in order to adapt to the innovative development of trade in service. Secondly, create new advantages for the innovative development of trade in services. Efforts will be made to support the trade enterprises, strengthen the capability of independent innovation, release the Catalogue of Major Areas for Service Exports and improve the export ability of capital and technology intensive services. Thirdly, cultivate new support to the development of trade in services. We will develop a batch of influential and competitive transnational service companies, a batch of modern service companies with excellent and leading performance and a batch of small and medium-sized enterprises which are strong in innovation and have characteristics.. Fourthly, explore the new development modes of trade in services. Efforts will be made to advance the new modes of trade in services and speed up the development of new business types like the supply chain management, cross-border e-commerce, and cloud crowdsourcing. Fifthly, expand the new room for the trade in service. We will step up the development of trade in service through the expansion of opening-up, perfect the promotion system of “going global” , investment overseas, projects contracted, labor service output, and the international capacity cooperation. Sixthly, perfect new monitoring moves. Efforts will be made to strengthen the supervision in and after the case, intensify market monitoring, credit evaluation, and public service, carry out “internet+ monitoring”, and come into a monitoring system which engages the public and has the coordination of all departments.
