How to cope with global trade changes

In recent years, economic globalization has encountered setbacks, with trade protectionism and unilateralism continuing to spread. A few Western countries have politicized, instrumentalized, and weaponized economic and trade issues, exacerbating global trade uncertainty. At the same time, the economic and trade strength of countries in the global South is growing stronger, and a new round of technological revolution is accelerating its penetration and integration into the economic and trade fields, accumulating new momentum and vitality for international economic and trade development. The global trade pattern is undergoing profound changes in the process of interwoven contradictions and dynamic transformation. In the face of global trade changes, China should take the initiative to take responsibility and shape, and safeguard the common development interests of the world in the changing situation. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that as a major contributor to global economic growth and a stabilizing anchor, China will steadfastly expand high-level opening-up and uphold the multilateral trading system. We must adhere to multilateralism, rely on institutional openness and trade upgrading as the driving force, coordinate development and security, and build a response system that is in line with national conditions and in line with the responsibilities of major powers.

Advocate for inclusive economic globalization and promote the development of global free trade. Resolutely uphold the rules based and WTO centered multilateral trading system, actively participate in WTO reform, uphold its core values and basic principles, and promote the prompt resumption of normal operation of the dispute settlement mechanism. Build a high-level network of free trade zones, activate and explore the path to realizing the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area, upgrade existing free trade agreements, deeply couple infrastructure connectivity with mutual recognition of standard rules and trade cooperation, and consolidate the regional value network. Continuously releasing the dividends of a super large market to the world, leading the trend of global openness and cooperation, hedging against decoupling and closure, providing stable supply of high-tech, high standard, and high-quality intermediate and final products, injecting Chinese strength into global trade development and supply chain resilience. Expand trade and investment liberalization and facilitation with countries and regions around the world, deepen international collaboration in areas such as customs, inspection and quarantine, and cross-border payments, and jointly create an open and inclusive international trade environment.

Deepen institutional openness and enhance the discourse power of international trade rules competition. Efforts will be made to promote institutional openness in terms of rules, regulations, management, standards, etc., implement the strategy of upgrading the pilot free trade zone, construct the Hainan Free Trade Port with high standards, actively connect with international high standard economic and trade rules, conduct pilot projects, and focus on intellectual property protection, electronic authentication, government procurement, green and low-carbon areas, exploring the connection and compatibility between domestic rules and international common rules. Proactively shaping international trade rules, proposing Chinese solutions in areas such as digital trade facilitation, cross-border data flow, mutual recognition of green standards, resilience of production and supply chains, and new energy. Strengthen international green and low-carbon cooperation, establish product carbon footprint accounting standards and certification systems that are in line with international standards, and promote the green and low-carbon transformation of trade. Actively safeguarding the interests of countries in the global South in the competition of trade rules, promoting the applicability of principles such as special and differential treatment and fair development space, enhancing the voice of developing countries in rules, and promoting more fair and just international trade governance.

Promote the upgrading of trade quality and strengthen new drivers of trade. Promote the high-quality development of service trade, implement the national negative list for cross-border service trade, encourage the export of professional services such as research and development design, consulting, finance, accounting, and law, support the development of cross-border service outsourcing in fields such as new energy, digital intelligence, biomedicine, low-carbon environmental protection, and engineering design, and cultivate the "China Service" brand. Promote the high-quality development of digital trade, consolidate the construction of digital infrastructure, initiate the construction of national digital trade demonstration zones, cultivate leading enterprises in digital trade, promote the unmanned and intelligent transformation of overseas warehouses, and improve trade efficiency. Vigorously developing green trade, building a "full lifecycle" green trade system, promoting low-carbon transformation of high energy consuming industries and coordinated trade of green products, consolidating the export of "new three types", supporting the export of emerging green intermediate products such as green hydrogen energy equipment, offshore wind power modules, and bio based new materials, and expanding new advantages of green trade.