People visit the booth of Huawei at the comprehensive exhibition area of the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 8, 2020. The fair ends on Sept. 9. (Xinhua/Pan Siwei)
BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) gave out series of signals that China will further open up its trade in services sector.
For instance, China will establish and improve the negative list for cross-border trade in services, build innovative development pilot opening platforms for trade in services, further widen market access for the service trade, increase imports of quality services, intensify international digital cooperation, enhance intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, and support establishing the global alliance of trade in services.
Apart from these, China vowed to apply more digital technologies to strengthen its core competitiveness in this area.
Currently, Chinese authorities are working on the digital development strategy in an effort to form as early as possible a digital trade development plan suitable for China. Local governments of Beijing and Shanghai are also working on action plans to boost digital trade. Experts said that digital technologies and institutional rules will accelerate the high-quality development of China's trade in services. This will serve as the new engine for world economic and trade cooperation and for the growth of global trade in services.
-- Blueprint finalized for the opening-up of trade in services
Good news about broader opening-up in service trade is heard repeatedly and commitments are being fulfilled.
At the four parallel summit forums following the opening ceremony of 2020 CIFTIS, related authorities explicated the blueprint for implementing all-around opening up in service trade from multiple aspects such as market access, pilot opening and institutional rules. China is determined to open up to the outside world to facilitate high-quality development towards global services and mutual benefits.
Wang Bingnan, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce clarified that in the next step, China will further broaden the market access for service trade, shorten the negative lists of foreign investments, and speed up the opening-up in medical, culture, education, telecommunication and other sectors; implement the pre-entry national treatment plus negative list administration and map out the negative lists for cross-border trade in services; consolidate the opening institutional structure, tap China's huge market potential and probe into new driving forces and development routes.
Wang added that China will make continuous efforts to improve the business environment in favor of the service trade, to promote platform construction of pilot service trade opening-up in pilot free trade zones (FTZs), make institutional innovations in deepening the opening-up of the service trade, build export bases of digital culture, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and more special services, and further deepen the institutional reform in the service trade to create a more open, fair and attractive investment environment.
The government report has made it clear that the negative lists for cross-border trade in services will be worked out this year.
It is learned from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) that the negative lists applicable nationwide and to free trade ports will be released in this year. The first list to be issued will be applied to Hainan free trade port and is under internal discussion.
-- China's plan on digital trade expectable
It is worth noting that besides the blueprint for the opening up and development of trade in services, China is preparing formulation of the digital trade plan.
Wang said digital technology showed great potentials during the epidemic control and in enhancing global economic and trade ties. Digital trade is now widely welcomed. In the future, digital trade will play an important role in China's better, deeper and high-level opening-up, noted Wang.
Data has also proven the vitality of digital trade. Statistics show that China recorded 203.6 billion U.S. dollars of digital import and export tradein 2019, accounting for 26 percent of total trade in services, rising 6.7 percent year-on-year. The growth was 8.1 percentage points higher than the comparable figure of service imports and exports. The World Trade Organization (WTO) forecast that, by 2030, digital technology is likely to contribute 1.8-2 percentage points to the growth of global trade each year and raise the ratio of world services trade in total global trade to 25 percent from the 21 percent in 2016.
According to Wang, in the next step, MOC will further clarify China's digital trade development objectives, customize China's digital trade strategy and development approaches and create the governance structure in favor of digital trade to work out the China plan on digital trade.
Local governments of Beijing and Shanghai are also working on action plans to develop digital trade. Chen Jining, mayor of Beijing confirmed that Beijing will build a pilot FTZ featuring technical innovation, opening-up of the service trade and digital economy as well. Beijing will also prioritize pilot digital trade zone, big data exchange and regulation of cross-border data flow to secure the smooth flow of digital factors. Shanghai will build more digital trade infrastructures and launch the new round of pilot campaigns to speed up the reform, opening-up and innovation in digital trade in services.
East China-located Zhejiang is doing its part to support local digital trade. Sheng Qiuping, director general of the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, introduced that exports of telecommunication, computer and information services make up over one third of the province's total values of trade in services, showing significant driving effects.
-- More attractive market in China
Participants of the 2020 CIFTIS are convinced that the series of good news suggest greater growth potential of China's trade in services and a more attractive market in China.
Data shows that, in the past 15 years, China's service imports totaled 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars, contributing 12.9 percent and elevating 10.4 percentage points of global service import growth.
Ma Jiantang, secretary of the leading party members' group of the Development Research Center of the State Council, pointed out that China, the second largest economy, is releasing more potentials in service trade. "China's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) has exceeded 10,000 U.S. dollars. The super large market, supported by the population of 1.4 billion, is undergoing accelerating consumption upgrade and brings up huge demands for medical, health, education, training, culture, entertainment and other services," said Ma.
Gao Yan, chairlady of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade said that China's economy grows steadily. China is shaping a domestic circle-based new development structure where domestic and international circles interact to support the high-quality development of the Belt & Road and launch pilot campaigns for the all-round innovative development of trade in services. She believed that these imply large market opportunities for service providers both at home and abroad.
Victoria Kwakwa, vice president for East Asia and Pacific Region of the World Bank, said China's service export registered an average annual growth of near 10 percent in the past two decades. China is a large service importer and imports 500 billion U.S. dollars services every year, an important market and driving force for world's trade in services.
Favorable market trends also make China's market more attractive to multinationals.
ABB's CEO Björn Rosengren said that ABB sees China's progresses in deepening the opening-up and far-sighted new infrastructures for 5G, data center and electric vehicles, and is more confident of its future in China. "We will increase our investments in China," said Björn Rosengren.
Gabriel Wong, Inbound/Outbound Leader with PwC China, agreed that China's opening-up policy, service, talent and fund supports, and fast-growing service market suggest market opportunities for international businesses and make China an important driving force for global cooperation in trade in services. (Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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