China's consumer market is booming, the world's economic recovery adds strength (expert interpretation)
■ Interviewed expert: Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce Research Institute
According to the "Japan Times" recently reported that in order to compensate for the decline in domestic sales, Japanese companies are stepping up cross-border e-commerce strategies to double their bets on China's huge online market.
According to data from the Japan External Trade Organization, China's imports of Japanese cosmetics in 2020 will increase by more than 30% year-on-year, reaching US$4.3 billion, far ahead of other major countries.
Spain’s “Abésée” website recently reported that Spain’s Tourism Authority stated that as the epidemic situation slows in the future, it will make efforts to diversify tourism and use government support policies to reposition Spain’s tourism industry and boost the economy.
The report also pointed out that “in any plan for attracting tourists, how to attract Chinese tourists is the most critical factor. Because Chinese tourists have strong purchasing power.”
Recently, China's import consumer market has continued to burst with vitality.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's foreign trade performance was outstanding in the first four months of this year. In April, imports were 1,436.3 billion yuan, an increase of 32.2% year-on-year, and the growth rate hit a 10-year high.
As China's economy gradually recovers and market demand expands, consumption continues to expand.
In general, the development of China's import consumption presents four characteristics.
In terms of consumption category, more commodities are transitioning from means of production to means of subsistence.
In the past, China’s foreign exchange was limited, and more foreign exchange had to be “used on the edge”, and there were fewer imports of household goods.
However, in recent years, as the income of Chinese residents has increased, the purchasing power of consumers has increased, and the trend of consumption upgrades has become obvious. The consumption of lifestyle products and upgraded products has increased well, and the people's yearning for a better life has increasingly needed to be satisfied through the international market.
In terms of consumption concepts, quality, individualization, and high-end consumption continue to flourish, driving the development of new business formats and new models. This also provides more domestic and foreign small and medium-sized suppliers with new opportunities for cross-border trade.
In terms of consumption patterns, from the past mainly based on general trade and processing trade, to today's various forms of trade, the import model has been continuously upgraded and improved.
With the rise of cross-border e-commerce, B2B, that is, a business-to-business bulk import trade model, has been transformed into a business-to-person form, which can better meet the individual needs of consumers.
In terms of consumption sources, there are not only goods and services from developed countries, but also products from the least developed countries along the “Belt and Road”.
During the CIIE, China will provide two free booths for each least developed country participating in the Expo to encourage the sharing of opportunities in China's open market.
At the same time, China applies special preferential tax rates to the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations and completed the exchange of notes. Among them, more than 90% of products exported to China enjoy zero tariffs.
The various changes in import consumption benefited from the opening of the market.
China has always abided by its commitments when it joined the WTO, implemented tariff reductions, and opened up its domestic market.
So far, China has exceeded its commitments. The average tariff has dropped from 15.3% to 7.5%, and the weighted tariff is only 4.4%, which is close to the level of developed countries.
On the occasion of the opening of the third CIIE in 2020, China announced the establishment of 10 import trade promotion innovation demonstration zones across the country to further enhance the level of import facilitation and promote high-level opening up.
In addition to the CIIE, the Consumer Expo, the Canton Fair, and the Service Trade Fair have also become important platforms for opening up to the outside world. More and more overseas companies are willing and have the opportunity to seek new development opportunities in China.
Currently, there are still uncertainties in the global epidemic and economic environment. The recovery of the Chinese market will undoubtedly play an important role in the stable growth of the world economy.
Last year, China not only became the only major economy in the world that achieved positive economic growth, it also achieved a historical breakthrough of one hundred billion yuan in total GDP, which can be said to be "outstanding" in the world.
Recently, the International Monetary Fund has also raised its forecast for China's annual economic growth rate, and it is expected that China's economic growth rate will reach 8.4% in 2021.
The adjustment of the forecast results shows the confidence and expectation of the international community in China's economic development throughout the year.
With the steady recovery of China's consumption power and the gradual increase in the level of opening to the outside world, China is able to allow more countries to share the spillover effects brought about by China's economic recovery.
From "buying the world" to "benefiting the world", China is injecting new impetus into the world economy.
(Reporter Lin Zihan interviewed and compiled)