On April 15th, the 125th China Import and Export Fair (hereinafter referred to as the Canton Fair) was opened. What is the trend of the Canton Fair, which is known as the “barometer of foreign trade”?
At the opening press conference on April 14, Xu Bing, spokesperson of the Canton Fair and deputy director of the China Foreign Trade Center, said that the 125th Canton Fair is expected to have more than 210 countries and regions to attend the conference, but it coincides with The important holidays in some countries, as well as the negative impact of the global macroeconomic situation and domestic factors, the situation of buyers of the Canton Fair is quite serious.
Specific from the Canton Fair buyers to the relevant leading indicators can be seen: such as the number of overseas buyers invitation letter, pre-certification, customer service consulting, hotel reservation rate, airline reservation rate, Guangjiu through train booking rate, etc. All of them reflect that the current buyers will be affected by the international macro environment, and the situation is more serious.
Xu Bing said that from an international perspective, global economic growth is under great pressure. Some countries are surging against globalization, trade protectionism has risen, and the multilateral trading system is facing major challenges, posing a certain threat to the steady growth of global trade. In addition, the current downward pressure on China's economy has increased, and the real economy has more difficulties. The problem of financing difficulties and financing has not been effectively solved. At the same time, the cost of labor and land and other factors has risen. Some import and export enterprises are facing many difficulties in their operation and development.
On March 18 this year, the National Import and Export Work Conference deployed the key foreign trade work in 2019. Assistant Minister of Commerce Ren Hongbin pointed out that it is necessary to focus on 10 aspects of work:
First, pay close attention to policy implementation and strengthen policy reserves.
The second is to steadily promote the construction of a strong trade country and fully promote the steady improvement of foreign trade.
The third is to seek truth and be pragmatic, and strive to promote the high-quality development of foreign trade.
The fourth is to further develop diversified markets and optimize the layout of the international market.
The fifth is to reform and improve the support policies for new business forms such as cross-border e-commerce, and actively cultivate new modes of trade new business.
The sixth is to promote the transformation and upgrading of processing trade and improve the level of the industrial chain.
The seventh is to actively expand imports and optimize the import structure.
Eighth is to vigorously promote the development of border trade. Nine is to continuously improve the level of trade facilitation.
Ten is to continue to deepen the reform of the foreign trade system.
At the meeting, it pointed out that China’s total import and export volume reached a record high in 2018, and it continued to maintain its position as the world’s number one trading power and further contributed to the national economy. However, the current environment facing China's foreign trade development is more complicated and severe, with greater uncertainty and more risk challenges. It is necessary to maintain a clear understanding.
According to the disclosure of the General Administration of Customs, China's foreign trade import and export in the first quarter increased by 3.7% year-on-year, of which exports increased by 6.7% and imports increased by 0.3%. Moreover, China's foreign trade import and export in March increased by 9.6% year-on-year, of which imports fell by 1.8% year-on-year, but exports increased by 21.3% year-on-year, exceeding market expectations.
In the face of the severe and complicated foreign trade situation, Xu Bing said that the 125th Canton Fair closely focused on promoting the stability of foreign trade and promoting the diversification of export markets, accurately carrying out global marketing promotion and purchaser invitations, and striving to attract “One Belt, One Road”. Core buyers such as the important source of customers along the market and the world's top 250 retailers are present, and the quality of participating buyers is continuously improved, and the source of higher quality buyers is diversified and globalized.
According to official data, the overseas buyers and export turnover of the 124th Canton Fair declined, with the number of overseas buyers falling to 189,812, a decrease of 1.11% compared with the 2017 Autumn Fair. The export turnover was RMB 20,694 million (equivalent to USD 29.86 billion), which was down 1% from the autumn of 2017.
What kind of harvest will foreign trade enterprises have in the 125th Canton Fair?