China Council for the Promotion of International Trade: Two years since RCEP came into effect, regional trade costs have been significantly reduced

　　China News Service, January 30. The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade held a regular press conference on the 30th. At the meeting, Yang Fan, spokesperson of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, released the November 2023 Global Economic and Trade Friction Index, the 2023 National Trade Promotion System Commercial Certification Data, The December 2023 Global Intellectual Property Protection Index Monthly Observation Report and the "2023 China Business Environment Research Report". In the "2023 National Trade Promotion System Commercial Certification Data" section, Yang Fan mentioned that in the two years since RCEP came into effect, regional trade costs have been significantly reduced, bringing real policy dividends to members and enterprises.

　　The specific contents are as follows:

Global economic and trade friction index in November 2023

　　Looking at the comprehensive index, the global economic and trade friction index for that month was 170, which continued to be in a high range, up 29 points from the same period last year and down 135 points from the previous month. The amount involved in global economic and trade friction measures increased by 8.5% year-on-year and decreased by 41.8% month-on-month.

　　Looking at the country index, Brazil, the United States and Mexico rank among the top three in economic and trade friction index among 20 countries (regions), and the EU, the United States and Mexico rank in the top three in terms of the amount involved in economic and trade friction measures. Compared with the same period last year, the United States continued to maintain a high level, Brazil rose from the middle to the high level, the European Union rose from the mid-low to the high level, and Mexico rose from the low level to the high level, all with significant improvements compared with the same period last year.

　　Judging from the industry index, the electronics, mechanical equipment and transportation equipment industries are the main points of conflict for economic and trade friction measures. Among the 13 major industries monitored, the electronics industry ranks first in the Global Economic and Trade Friction Index.

　　Judging from the sub-index, the 20 countries (regions) monitored issued a total of 29 import and export tariff measures, initiated 21 trade remedy investigations, and submitted TBT (technical barriers to trade) notifications and SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary measures) notifications to the WTO. 96 items, 8 import and export restriction measures were issued, and 156 other restrictive measures were issued. Among them, the trade remedy measures index ranks first among the five types of measures index. Since the beginning of this year, except for the year-on-year increase in trade remedy measures, the other four types of sub-measures have continued to show a year-on-year decline.

　　In terms of China-related economic and trade frictions, the China-related economic and trade friction index of 19 countries (regions) was 152, which was at a high level and dropped by 1,274 points from the previous month. Among them, Brazil has the highest China-related economic and trade friction index, followed by the United States, and Saudi Arabia ranks third. The amount involved in economic and trade friction measures involving China in 19 countries (regions) in that month fell by 13.3% year-on-year and 55.6% month-on-month. The China-related economic and trade friction index in the machinery and equipment, electronics, transportation equipment, light industry and pharmaceutical industries is at a high level.

2023 National Trade Promotion System Commercial Certification Data

　　In 2023, the national trade promotion system issued a total of 6.2102 million certificates of origin, ATA carnets, commercial certificates and other certificates, a year-on-year increase of 16.05%. Among them, the total amount of non-preferential certificate of origin visas issued by the national trade promotion system was US$382.209 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.13%; the number of visas totaled 3.9143 million, a year-on-year increase of 13.44%.

　　The total value of preferential certificate of origin visas under the national trade promotion system was US$65.152 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.07%; the number of visas totaled 1.6769 million, a year-on-year increase of 21.54%. The steady growth in the number of certificates of origin issued by the national trade promotion system, especially preferential certificates of origin, illustrates that as my country increases the implementation and promotion of free trade agreements and other stabilizing foreign trade policies, the ability of my country's foreign trade enterprises to enjoy preferential exports is gradually emerging. and levels are also constantly improving.

　　In 2023, the total amount of RCEP Certificate of Origin visas issued by the National Trade Promotion System was US$7.21 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.54%; the number of visas totaled 218,100, a year-on-year increase of 38.15%. This shows that in the two years since RCEP came into effect, regional trade costs have been significantly reduced, bringing real policy dividends to members and enterprises.

　　In 2023, the national trade promotion system issued a total of 9,273 outbound ATA carnets, a year-on-year increase of 191.97%; the relevant ATA carnets covered goods worth approximately 2.620 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 150.34%; there were 3,729 certificate-issuing companies, a year-on-year increase of 266.31% , all showed a sharp jump. This shows that although my country's foreign trade companies have experienced ups and downs in the past year, they still rely on their tenacious resilience and hard work to sail overseas and actively expand the international market through various foreign economic and trade activities. This makes us full of respect for Chinese foreign trade enterprises, and also makes us confident in the development prospects of China's foreign trade.

December 2023 Global Intellectual Property Protection Index Monthly Observation Report

　　The December 2023 Global Intellectual Property Protection Index Monthly Observation Report has three main findings: In terms of intellectual property policy measures, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will implement a "pre-application pilot" review program, aiming to help first-time patent applicants through the use of patent tool searches. Applicants evaluate whether their invention is innovative in the field. Japan has promulgated a new law on "patent non-public applications", stipulating the necessary procedures between the Japan Patent Office and patent applicants. The Korean Intellectual Property Office and the National Police Agency jointly issued the world's first Interpol purple notice in the field of industrial property, aiming to prevent companies from producing and selling counterfeit products and increase citizens' awareness of counterfeit products.

　　In terms of global governance of intellectual property, the World Intellectual Property Organization released a new version of the "Green Technology Handbook" to introduce green technologies that reduce emissions and promote sustainable practices, aiming to bridge the urgent needs of developed and developing countries for climate change mitigation solutions with their actual realities. gap between situations.

　　In terms of international cooperation in intellectual property, China and the EU continue to carry out bilateral cooperation in the field of intellectual property. China-Denmark and China-Chile patent examination highway pilot projects were extended. Vietnam and the EU signed a memorandum of cooperation to cooperate on issues related to the field of intellectual property such as the development of information technology systems, database construction, and practical review.

"2023 China Business Environment Research Report"

　　In order to conscientiously implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on optimizing the business environment and give full play to its role of representing industry and commerce and providing advice and suggestions, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade has conducted surveys on China's business environment for eight consecutive years since 2016 and released annual reports. In 2023, we conducted in-depth research on various enterprises across the country through holding symposiums, on-site visits, questionnaire surveys, expert interviews, etc., and collected more than 6,700 valid questionnaires, with samples covering enterprises of different ownerships, industries and sizes. After research and analysis, the group compiled and formed the "2023 China Business Environment Research Report".

　　The "Report" shows that overall, in 2023, the overall evaluation of China's business environment by the surveyed companies was 4.36 points (out of 5 points), and nearly 90% of the companies surveyed rated the business environment as "satisfactory" or above.

　　From the perspective of sub-indicators, the evaluation index system of the "Report" includes enterprise establishment and exit, infrastructure, life services, policy and government affairs, social credit, fair competition, social rule of law, technological innovation, human resources, financial services, fiscal and taxation services and customs There are 12 first-level indicators such as services. The survey results show that the three indicators of customs services, fiscal and taxation services, and social credit have higher evaluations. The four indicators of human resources, customs services, infrastructure, and enterprise establishment and exit environment have increased year-on-year, and enterprises have an enhanced sense of gain. .

　　From the perspective of operations and investment, "utilizing local resources" and "establishing production bases" are the main reasons for companies to invest in new factories; more than 70% of the companies surveyed have maintained revenue or increased, and nearly 80% of the high-tech companies surveyed have maintained revenue. or growth.

　　From the perspective of market expectations, more than 70% of the surveyed companies have relatively positive market expectations after the epidemic situation stabilizes, and more than 50% of the surveyed foreign trade companies have seen an increase in order volume in 2023.