Beijing, 9 Sep (ZXS) -- To expand the opening up of services, China strives for win-win results
China News Agency reporter Li Xiaoyu
As expected by all walks of life, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a series of measures to expand service opening up in a video speech to the 2 China International Fair for Trade in Services Global Trade in Services Summit on the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) on the <>nd. Analysts here believe that these measures reflect win-win cooperation thinking.
Liberalize market access in the services sector
In his speech, Xi Jinping clearly stated that market access in the service industry should be relaxed, the process of opening up cross-border service trade should be promoted in an orderly manner, the standardization level of service trade should be improved, and institutional opening up should be steadily expanded.
At present, China's manufacturing sector has basically opened up to the outside world, but the degree of openness of the service industry is relatively insufficient. Zhao Jin, a researcher at the Institute of Financial Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that market access restrictions in the service industry are still an important factor restricting the better development of China's service trade. Expanding openness to break down institutional barriers in the customs territory and actively adapt to the trend of digital transformation is of great significance to the rapid development of service trade.
Xi Jinping mentioned that the service fields such as telecommunications, tourism, law, and vocational examinations should be opened up to the outside world. Analysts believe that in these areas, there is a need to continue to increase the supply of services and enrich people's choices, and foreign investors are also willing to explore the Chinese market. If restrictions on foreign ownership and market access are further relaxed, more convenience will be given to qualified cross-border service suppliers to work in China, which will achieve a win-win situation.
Expand imports of quality services
Xi Jinping said that efforts should be made to expand domestic demand, accelerate the construction of a strong domestic market, take the initiative to expand the import of high-quality services, encourage the expansion of knowledge-intensive service exports, provide new development impetus for the world with China's large market opportunities, provide more and better Chinese services to the world with high-quality development, and enhance the sense of gain of the people of the world.
At this time, it is necessary for China to expand its service imports, and it is necessary and has a foundation. With the improvement of living standards, the demand for service consumption of the Chinese people continues to increase. Official data show that in the first seven months of this year, China's retail sales of services increased by 7.20% year-on-year, far exceeding the 3.7% growth rate of total retail sales of consumer goods in the same period.
After the optimization and adjustment of epidemic prevention and control policies, China's service imports rebounded rapidly, with a year-on-year growth rate of 7.21% in the first seven months.
A huge market with a population of more than 14.<> billion people further opens the door to quality services around the world, with far-reaching implications for both China and the world economy. Kuang Xianming, vice president of China (Hainan) Reform and Development Research Institute, said that expanding the import of high-quality services will not only help better meet the service consumption needs of Chinese residents, but also bring about major changes in the service industry, such as giving birth to new service formats and forcing the service industry market to open.
Deepen cooperation in service trade and digital trade among the "Belt and Road" countries
Xi Jinping said in his speech that it is necessary to strengthen the docking of development strategies and cooperation initiatives with other countries, deepen cooperation in service trade and digital trade with the "Belt and Road" countries, promote the facilitation of cross-border flow of various resources and factors, and cultivate more economic cooperation growth points.
Some analysts pointed out that there are two major considerations behind China's choice to deepen service trade and digital trade cooperation with "Belt and Road" countries.
First, driving "Chinese services" to go global through trade and foreign investment is crucial to enhancing the competitiveness and influence of service trade, and countries along the "Belt and Road" are increasingly becoming China's foreign trade and foreign investment hubs; Second, China has a good foundation for cooperation with the Belt and Road countries in the field of digital trade and service trade.
Lan Qingxin, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Opening Up to the Outside World at the University of International Business and Economics, said that China should stabilize the traditional service trade markets such as the United States and Europe, vigorously undertake the transfer of its outsourcing business, expand service exports, and actively explore service trade exports to countries along the "Belt and Road", encourage service trade enterprises to carry out international standards and qualification certification, and improve the level and ability to undertake international service business. (End)