Deepening the integration of domestic and foreign trade

Since the beginning of this year, the integration of domestic and foreign trade in China has been continuously accelerating, achieving significant results. This work is a key strategic deployment for China in the new era to coordinate the domestic and international situations, promote the formation of a strong domestic market, and achieve a higher level of opening up to the outside world. Looking ahead to the 15th Five Year Plan period, China will utilize both domestic and international markets and resources at a higher level to further shape new development advantages, enhance economic resilience and global competitiveness.

Continued implementation of policy measures

Faced with a complex and ever-changing external environment, Chinese enterprises have adapted to changes this year, accelerating the integration of domestic and foreign trade. Relevant policy measures continue to be implemented, and the integration of domestic and foreign trade is steadily advancing.

Zhao Fujun, Director and Researcher of the Comprehensive Research Office of the Foreign Economic Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, stated that China has formed a pattern of central and local linkage in promoting the integration of domestic and foreign trade.

At the central level, relevant deployments continue to be implemented. In March, the Central Office and the State Council issued the "Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption", which listed improving the level of integration of domestic and foreign trade as one of the 30 key tasks; The sixth meeting of the Central Committee of Finance and Economics held in July emphasized the need to deepen the construction of a unified national market, focus on promoting the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, smooth the path of export to domestic sales, and cultivate a group of high-quality domestic and foreign trade enterprises; In October, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China approved the "15th Five Year Plan" proposal, which proposed to "promote market diversification and integration of domestic and foreign trade".

At the local level, various regions have launched innovative measures based on actual conditions to assist domestic and foreign trade enterprises in transformation.

Multidimensional empowerment, expanding the path of going global. During the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services, Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone will release its first foreign trade product manual in both Chinese and English, bringing together over 200 products from nearly 80 companies with intentions to go abroad, showcasing the excellent foreign trade products and services of Beijing Yizhuang. In recent years, Beijing Yizhuang has carried out "group shipping, ship shipping, and brand shipping", organizing enterprises to participate in international professional exhibitions such as the Hanover Industrial Exhibition and the Dusseldorf Medical Equipment Exhibition in Germany, and promoting the leap from "product shipping" to "ecological shipping".

Multi layer coverage creates a three-dimensional network. Chongqing is one of the first pilot cities for integrated domestic and foreign trade in China. By creating a three-dimensional ecosystem of "development pilot zones+reform pilot bases+leading enterprises", Chongqing has cultivated 5 pilot zones for integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, such as Yuzhong District and Wanzhou District, and 20 reform pilot bases, such as Fuling Comprehensive Bonded Zone and Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park.

Han Ruidong, assistant researcher at the Economic Forecasting Department of the National Information Center, said that currently, various policies and measures to support the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade are accelerating their implementation. Through "real money and silver", leading enterprises in the integration of domestic and foreign trade are cultivated, financial and insurance institutions are encouraged to innovate supply chain finance models, improve the stability and financial support of domestic and foreign trade enterprise supply chains, actively build an integrated production and sales platform for domestic and foreign trade, promote the accelerated integration of domestic and foreign trade markets, promote the reduction of market conversion risks for enterprises, and effectively enhance the endogenous driving force for the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade in enterprises.

Actively explore the domestic market

With the continuous evolution of the international situation, the integration of domestic and foreign trade has become a necessary question for enterprises to continuously enhance their comprehensive competitiveness. Zhou Wei, a researcher at the American University Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the current international economic and trade environment is becoming increasingly complex, and foreign trade enterprises are facing increasing pressure and challenges. Many companies are rethinking how to better allocate resources while also striving to explore the development model of integrated domestic and foreign trade.

At present, the proportion of products sold domestically by enterprises is about 10% to 15%, "said Xiong Yun, the European regional manager of Ningbo Ruineng Group Co., Ltd. The ultra quiet fireplace heater is a hot selling product of this company, which is loved by overseas users due to its use of wood grain water transfer printing technology. Xiong Yun introduced that the company's main market is in the United States, and in recent years, it has actively expanded its domestic sales channels. It has entered e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and JD.com online, and supermarkets such as RT Mart, Yonghui, and Sam's Club offline. In the process of expanding the domestic market, enterprises are also constantly enriching their product categories.

Guangdong Xinbao Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. has been deeply involved in both domestic and international markets for over 20 years. The strong complementarity between the two markets creates greater strategic flexibility for enterprises. According to the relevant person in charge of Xinbao Electric, the company's independent brand "Baishatu" has always focused on the coffee machine field and is currently focusing on the domestic market for sales. During the "6.18" and "Double 11" periods, the brand ranked among the top sellers in the coffee machine category on the Tmall platform.

Since the beginning of this year, in order to help foreign trade enterprises better explore the domestic market, the Ministry of Commerce has launched the "China Tour of Foreign Trade Excellent Products" series of activities, organizing associations, supermarkets, e-commerce platforms, etc. to actively carry out procurement docking, smooth the domestic sales channels of enterprises, and build a fast lane for foreign trade enterprises to approach domestic consumers.

Enhance integrated management capability

To accelerate the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, efforts should be made to build a strong domestic market, promote the alignment of domestic and foreign trade market rules, coordination of entities, and integration of channels, enhance the integrated management capabilities of enterprises, and better meet the increasingly upgraded domestic market demand, "said Han Ruidong.

Currently, various regions are accelerating the cultivation of leading enterprises in the integration of domestic and foreign trade, building comprehensive service platforms, implementing the "same line, same standard, and same quality" project for domestic and foreign trade products, promoting more enterprises to obtain the "three same" certification through technological transformation, and improving the level of integrated operation. At present, the integrated operation rate of domestic and foreign trade in industrial enterprises above designated size in major economic provinces such as Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Guangdong has reached about 30%.

Zhao Fujun believes that in the future, the integration of domestic and foreign trade should be focused on promoting key industries and their industrial chains. At the same time, fully leverage the innovative role of localities and explore distinctive development paths for the integration of domestic and foreign trade in various regions.

Zhou Wei believes that in the context of changes in the global economic and trade landscape and supply chain restructuring, promoting the integration of domestic and foreign trade is not only a demand for China's own development, but also an inevitable need to leverage the advantages of China's super large market and inject stable momentum into global development. Promoting the integration of domestic and foreign trade means complementing and coordinating China's own advantages with those of other countries, so that all parties involved can obtain stable and sustainable benefits from it.

In the future, as China continues to align with international high standard economic and trade rules, the magnetic attraction of the domestic business environment will continue to strengthen. More and more enterprises will be able to flexibly switch between domestic and international markets, further enhancing their development resilience.