Opinion

Strengthening policy coordination to boost services exports

Accelerating the development of services trade is an important pathway to expand high-standard opening-up, and nurture new momentum for the growth of foreign trade. Chinese authorities have unveiled a package of measures aimed at boosting services exports and promoting the high-quality development of trade in services. The measures include those on making full use of the available funding channels of the central and local governments to support new forms and models of services exports. Efforts will be made to improve efficiency for enterprises when they apply for services export tax rebates, leveraging relevant electronic information platforms.

In the first half of this year, China's total services imports and exports reached RMB 3.9 trillion, an increase of 8 percent year-on-year, of which services exports amounted to RMB 1.7 trillion, growing by 15 percent. The impressive performance in services exports reflects a significant improvement in the international competitiveness of China's related services.

Strengthening the coordination of fiscal, tax, financial, regulatory, and other policies will create a synergistic effect to promote services exports, enabling services export enterprises to continuously enhance their international competitiveness. China's services trade is expected to maintain a positive development trend.

Policy

1. The People's Bank of China and the Monetary Authority of Macao on October 13 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a cross-border payment connectivity between the Chinese mainland and Macao, according to the country's central bank. Both sides will deepen exchange and cooperation on cross-border payment connectivity, and enhance the efficiency and quality of cross-border payment services, aiming to promote economic and trade activities, as well as the exchange of personnel between the Chinese mainland and Macao.

2. The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the measures for the supervision of fair access to oil and gas pipeline network facilities on October 16, which clearly defines how to regulate the fair access to oil and gas pipeline network facilities. The measures will take effect on November 1.

Data

1. China's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) maintained generally stable economic performance from January to August this year, with improving innovation vitality. The value added of major industrial SMEs grew by 7.6 percent year-on-year, with the growth rate 3.3 percentage points higher than that of large enterprises, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

2. A total of 169 new international air cargo routes have been opened in China as of September 30, with weekly round-trip flights increasing by more than 352.

3. More than 42,000 foreign-invested enterprises were established in China from January to August, increasing 14.8 percent year-on-year.

4. The completed fixed-asset investment of China’s State Grid exceeded 420 RMB billion from January to September, up 8.1 percent year-on-year. The annual investment of the State Grid is projected to surpass RMB 650 billion for the first time by year-end.

5. China's State Taxation Administration recently released value-added tax (VAT) invoice data, which reveals stable growth of corporate sales revenue from the third quarter last year to the third quarter this year. The quarterly corporate sales revenue achieved year-on-year growth rates of 0.4 percent, 2.6 percent, 2.1 percent, 3.1 percent, and 4.4 percent respectively.

6. China’s auto industry maintained robust production and sales from January to September this year. Total auto output reached 24.33 million units in the period, marking a 13.3 percent year-on-year increase, while sales grew 12.9 percent to 24.36 million units. NEV production jumped 35.2 percent year-on-year to 11.24 million units during the same period, and sales climbed 34.9 percent year-on-year to nearly 11.23 million units, accounting for 46.1 percent of total vehicle sales in China, as reported by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

7. China’s trade with other member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has surged from approximately RMB 100 billion at the organization’s inception to RMB 3.65 trillion in 2024. China’s imports and exports with other SCO members reached RMB 2.75 trillion during the first three quarters of this year, with a year-on-year increase of 2.4 percent, setting a new record high for the same period in history.

8. In September, China’s consumer price index (CPI) grew by 0.1 percent month on month. The core CPI excluding the prices of food and energy has seen its year-on-year growth rate expand for five consecutive months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

9. China’s Guangdong Province recorded a total foreign trade of RMB 7.02 trillion in the first three quarters of this year, a year-on-year growth of 3.8 percent, accounting for 20.9 percent of the national total, according to the Guangdong customs authorities.

10. China's railway construction saw steady progress in the first three quarters of this year, with fixed-asset investment rising 5.8 percent year-on-year to RMB 593.7 billion, data from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. showed. This investment has played a significant role in driving overall investment and injected fresh momentum into efforts to expand domestic demand and underpin the steady recovery of the Chinese economy.

(Source: Economic Daily)