[Economic Highlights in the First Half of the Year ④] The proportion of foreign trade of private enterprises has steadily increased

　　In the first half of this year, the total import and export value of my country's trade in goods was 19.8 trillion yuan.

Among them, the import and export of private enterprises was 9.82 trillion yuan, accounting for 49.6% of the national total foreign trade value, up 1.9 percentage points from the same period last year.

　　Wang Changyin, general manager of Zhejiang Chuanhua Synthetic Materials Company, told reporters that the company actively developed new products and opened up new markets. In the first half of this year, the sales of rare earth butadiene rubber increased by 347% year-on-year.

"Under the epidemic, it is not easy to keep the export volume increasing year by year. The decrease in foreign demand, the increase in shipping costs, and the shortage of containers are all challenges."

　　"Affected by the epidemic, some foreign trade private enterprises are facing problems such as cancellation of orders, lack of work, and cargo stranded in ports. Factors such as rising raw material prices and high logistics costs have further compressed corporate profit margins." The Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce Qi Guanjun, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Trade Studies, said.

Under the severe external environment, private enterprises overcame difficulties and showed strong resilience.

　　In terms of growth rate, in the first half of this year, the import and export of private enterprises increased by 13.6%, 4.2 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate, driving my country's foreign trade growth by 6.5 percentage points; in terms of product structure, the export of mechanical and electrical products of private enterprises in the first half of the year increased by 15.3% , which is 6.7 percentage points higher than the national export growth rate of mechanical and electrical products, and the import growth rate of agricultural products, basic organic chemicals, medicinal materials and medicines is higher than the national import growth rate of similar products; from the perspective of market development, private enterprises in ASEAN, Latin America, The import and export of the five Central Asian countries increased by 20.5%, 16.4% and 53.3% respectively, and the growth rates were higher than the national overall level.

　　"From the perspective of development trends, private enterprises have made great progress in the market expansion of countries along the 'Belt and Road' and become a new force in 'going out'." Qi Guanjun said that the structure of private enterprises' export commodities continued to optimize, moving from the low end of the value chain to the high end , expanding from traditional industries to emerging industries, from mainly engaged in OEM production to focusing on cultivating independent brands.

　　Where does the resilience of private foreign trade companies come from?

Li Zhiqi, vice chairman of the Beijing Federation of Industry and Commerce and chairman of the International Think Tank for Revitalization, believes that private enterprises are highly sensitive to the market and can give full play to the advantages of "small boats and turn around" with the support of national policies, and make quick adjustments to the market situation to maintain competitiveness. .

　　Actively develop new products.

Jiangsu Taimusi Knitting Technology Co., Ltd. overcame technical difficulties in the first half of this year and launched environmentally friendly and degradable polylactic acid fabrics and knitted cut-resistant fabrics.

"According to market demand, we have made great efforts in technological research and development, strengthened innovation in the application of surface materials and accessories, and improved the competitiveness of our products to cope with the challenges brought by external uncertainties." said Lu Biao, chairman of the company.

　　Adjust business models in a timely manner.

While achieving technological breakthroughs and developing new products, Zhejiang Chuanhua Synthetic Materials Co., Ltd. dynamically adjusts the order-taking business model according to the epidemic situation at home and abroad.

In the case of full production, the problem of product expansion is solved, and the operation is stable.

　　Actively try digital transformation and upgrading.

"Digitalization has created conditions for the emergence of new formats of international trade. We found in our survey that many foreign trade enterprises use digital tools to drive enterprise development, improve productivity, optimize resource allocation, control production costs and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises." Li Zhiqi said.

　　The foreign trade of private enterprises continued to improve, in addition to their solid competitiveness, they also benefited from the implementation of a series of foreign trade stabilization policies.

　　The "Opinions on Promoting the Stability and Quality Improvement of Foreign Trade" issued by the General Office of the State Council in May proposed 13 policies and measures to help foreign trade enterprises cope with difficulties and challenges.

　　In order to speed up the restoration of the vitality of foreign trade market players, a "white list" system for foreign trade enterprises has been established in many places to provide key guarantees in terms of goods customs clearance, financing and loans, resumption of work and production, and recruitment and employment.

　　With the implementation of a package of policies and measures to stabilize the economy, the work of maintaining stability and improving the quality of foreign trade has been accelerated, and the vitality of foreign trade market players has been effectively stimulated.

In the first half of this year, the number of foreign trade enterprises with import and export performance in my country increased by 5.5% year-on-year. Among them, the number of private enterprises increased by 6.9% to 425,000, outperforming the overall performance.

　　At present, the international environment is becoming more complex and severe, and the development of foreign trade is still faced with some unstable and uncertain factors.

"For private enterprises, it is necessary to increase their sense of urgency and not blindly expand production capacity. Instead of pursuing order growth, it is better to pursue profit growth. Risks can be reduced by collecting deposits and prepayments, and at the same time, reducing orders for highly customized products. Products with strong standardization and compatibility will be the main export direction." Li Zhiqi said.

　　Qi Guanjun suggested that the government should continue to implement the policy of reducing taxes and fees to ease the pressure of rising costs for enterprises; guide private enterprises to rationally use exchange rate hedging tools to improve their ability to deal with exchange rate risks; make full use of big data, artificial intelligence and other fintech technologies to improve financial Accuracy of institutions supporting private enterprises.

　　"As private enterprises actively explore and forge ahead in transformation and upgrading and integration of domestic and foreign trade, their status as the largest foreign trade entity will be further consolidated," said Qi Guanjun.

(Economic Daily reporter Zeng Shiyang)