(Combating new crown pneumonia) China's economic war "epidemic" record: global epidemic lights up red, Chinese export companies welcome the big test again

China News Agency, Beijing, March 25 (Reporter Li Xiaoyu) As the global epidemic situation is getting increasingly severe, Chinese foreign trade companies who have just passed the resumption of production and production are facing new challenges.

One of the difficulties was that a large number of existing orders were cancelled or delayed.

Prior to the China National Defense Epidemic, the difficulties encountered by many foreign trade companies were mainly delayed resumption of work, and it was difficult to deliver orders on time. Nowadays, companies can produce at full capacity, but orders have gone wrong.

Oriental International Group Shanghai Litai Import and Export Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in textile and apparel trade, and two-thirds of its products are sold to European and American markets. The company's general manager Zhao Xiaodong told a reporter from China News Agency that many European and American customers have recently cancelled orders because many European countries have "closed cities" and "closed countries" and the US economy has been under pressure due to the spread of the epidemic.

Zhao Xiaodong said that the company's annual export value is about 300 million to 300 million US dollars, but the current export orders affected by the epidemic have been as much as 70 to 80 million US dollars. Among them, about 40 million US dollars of orders were directly cancelled.

"Crisis that has occurred at different stages in the past, such as cancelling orders, reducing quantities, delaying payment, and lowering prices, have now burst out in a period of time." The 30-year-old "old foreign trade" frankly told reporters that if The global epidemic cannot be controlled before the end of April, and the company's export situation this year is not optimistic.

A person in charge of a footwear export company also said that as early as more than 20 days ago, foreign customers who placed orders required overtime to produce sandals and single shoes in the current season. As a result, after the company tried hard to complete the work, it was suddenly notified of orders a few days ago. cancel.

As the "big head" of China's exports, exporters of mechanical and electrical products have encountered another dilemma.

Gao Shiwang, director of the Industry Development Department of the China Chamber of Commerce for Electrical and Mechanical Industry, said in an interview with China News Agency that the demand for mechanical and electrical products is relatively affected by the season, and the cancellation of orders is not prominent. Judging from the situation of the chamber of commerce, the common problem reflected by enterprises is that with the increasingly limited international logistics, a large number of foreign customers have demanded postponed delivery, which has caused considerable pressure on domestic mechanical and electrical export enterprises.

According to incomplete statistics, more than 100 countries have imposed restrictions on flights, trains and ships, dozens of countries or regions have closed all or part of their ports, or vigorously strengthened port quarantine.

"In the past, it was impossible to deliver on time, but now it can be delivered but the other party does not accept it." Gao Shiwang said.

The China International Chamber of Commerce also said that with the domestic epidemic being controlled, the delivery risks of Chinese companies in international trade gradually decreased, but the risk of foreign buyers refusing to accept the goods and payment due to the epidemic was rising.

The second problem is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to solicit new orders.

Affected by the epidemic, nearly 200 international exhibitions around the world have been cancelled or postponed. The 127th China Import and Export Fair has recently confirmed that it will not be held as scheduled.

Many companies told reporters that failing to attend the exhibition as originally planned will make it harder to accept new orders. A person in charge of a textile and apparel company in Changchun said that almost all export orders from the company come from the Canton Fair each year.

The greater trouble is that the epidemic has impacted production and consumption in many countries, reduced trade activities, and increased downward pressure on the economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that the global economy will fall into negative growth in 2020, at least as much as it was during the 2008 financial crisis.

This means that problems such as weak external demand and reduced orders may continue to plague Chinese foreign trade companies in the coming months.

"Under the epidemic, it is difficult for foreign trade companies to complete existing orders and obtain new orders. The cost of exporting goods has increased. Some foreign trade routes have been interrupted. This year, China's foreign trade stability is unprecedented. Speaking to China News Agency reporters.

Under this circumstance, a more vigorous foreign trade defense battle has begun.

The Ministry of Commerce said recently that it will focus on using the financial and taxation, financial, export credit guarantee and other means allowed by the WTO rules to do everything possible to help companies secure orders and secure the market.

Many places have also launched emergency rescue policies. For example, to alleviate corporate financial pressure. Shenzhen has shortened the average processing time for export tax rebates to 8 working days, an increase of 20%. China Export Credit Insurance Corporation Shenzhen Branch has uniformly purchased corporate credit insurance for local small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises, which enables enterprises to obtain corresponding claims in the event of order extension, order cancellation, and delayed payment.

Analysts believe that because trade is greatly affected by foreign demand, the stability of foreign trade policies can only allow companies to "lightly enter the battlefield", whether the export can be improved depends on the epidemic situation.

"If the spread of the global epidemic can be curbed by June, exports can be restored in the second half of the year," said Gao Shiwang. (Finish)