Ministry of Commerce: Actively developing digital trade and orderly expanding the opening up of the digital field

On February 27th, the State Council Information Office held a regular briefing on State Council policies, introducing the relevant information on the handling of proposals from National People's Congress deputies and National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference by State Council departments in 2025. At the meeting, Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong stated that by 2025, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, the Ministry of Commerce will combine relevant suggestions and proposals to promote the new and optimal development of goods trade, service trade, and digital trade, effectively respond to external shocks and challenges, and demonstrate strong resilience and vitality in China's foreign trade. The scale has reached a historical high, the structure has been optimized and upgraded, and the contribution rate of net exports of goods and services to economic growth will reach 32.7%.

In terms of goods trade, we will revise the Foreign Trade Law, expand the scope of a new batch of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, and promote the introduction of policies such as "tax refund upon departure and re accounting after sales" for cross-border e-commerce export overseas warehouses. Reduce booth fees for exhibitors at the Canton Fair export exhibition and expand the coverage of export credit insurance. Introduce implementation opinions on expanding green trade and promote the brand of "exporting to China". In 2025, the national import and export volume of goods will exceed 45 trillion yuan for the first time, maintaining its position as the largest country in goods trade for nine consecutive years. The market is more diversified. The import and export volume of countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" is 23.6 trillion yuan, accounting for 51.9% of the total import and export volume. The product structure has been further optimized, and the export value of high-tech products is 5.25 trillion yuan, accounting for 19.5% of the total export value.

In terms of service trade, we will comprehensively implement the negative list of cross-border service trade and orderly promote the gradient opening of the cross-border service market. Introduce policies and measures to promote service exports, revise the "Catalogue of Encouraged Imported Services", continuously improve the policy promotion system for service trade, and successfully hold the China International Fair for Trade in Services. In 2025, the national service import and export volume will exceed 8 trillion yuan for the first time, with a year-on-year growth of 7.4%. Among them, service exports will increase by 14.2%, and the trade structure will continue to be optimized.

In terms of digital trade, we will promote the implementation of various policy measures in the "Opinions of the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on the Reform, Innovation and Development of Digital Trade". Expand and strengthen the national digital service export base, cultivate and strengthen digital trade operators. Accelerate the development of digital trade-related standards and promote the compatibility of domestic and international standards. Implement the action plan to promote high-quality development of service outsourcing and drive the digital transformation of service outsourcing. The 4th Global Digital Trade Expo was held in high quality, 46 key activities including "Silk Road E-commerce Day" were held, and 382 achievements including the first innovation and report list were released.

Yan Dong stated that in the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will optimize and upgrade goods trade, expand diversified markets, and cultivate new momentum in foreign trade. At the same time, establish the brand of "exporting to China"; Vigorously develop service trade and support the export of productive and knowledge intensive services; Actively developing digital trade, orderly expanding the opening up of the digital field, promoting the construction of national digital trade demonstration zones, and striving to achieve a good start in building a strong trading nation during the 15th Five Year Plan period.