Phoenix TV:
China's foreign trade performed well in 2018. However, both the General Administration of Customs and the National Bureau of Statistics said that the performance was partly attributable to declarations in advance of the tariffs. Do you think the export demand for 2019 has been overdrawn? Does it mean weaker external demand in 2019? Thank you.
Li Kuiwen:
I have introduced the overall trend in China's foreign trade. We believe that this year's overall trend in foreign trade, on the basis of last year will see an improved quality at a steady pace. Despite concerns over the trade development caused by external uncertainties, we believe that China's foreign trade will see improved quality and performance while maintaining steady growth this year. A reporter from CCTV asked a similar question just now, and I have given my answers. Thank you.
China News Service:
We notice the imports and exports of Chinese private companies provide an increased proportion of the overall trade last year. Could you introduce some of the key features in their growth? How does the General Administration of Customs support their trade growth? Thank you.
Li Kuiwen:
I just introduced some general information about the imports and exports of Chinese private companies, which has grown rapidly and assumed a rising proportion in the overall trade. Now, I would like to share some of the other salient features.
First, imports and exports of private companies have achieved greater dynamism. In 2018, around 372,000 private companies participated in foreign trade, an increase of 10.7 percent year-on-year. They contributed more than half of the foreign trade growth in 2018, thus playing a more important role in overall trade development.
Second, different regions were at different echelons of growth in terms of import and export volume by private enterprises. The central, western, and northwestern regions recorded a growth rate of 20.3 percent, 18.9 percent and 16.7 percent respectively, all higher than the eastern region, which achieved a 12.1 percent gain last year.
Third, the trade structure of private companies continued to upgrade. Mechanical and electrical products accounted for over 40 percent of both their import and export value. The export of integrated circuit, mobile phones and LCD panels increased by 51 percent, 16.8 percent and 34.1 percent respectively, while the import of integrated circuit, agricultural products and plastics in primary forms grew by 35.3 percent, 11 percent and 27.5 percent.
In support of private enterprises, GAC is putting into practice the principles drawn from General Secretary Xi Jinping's addresses at a symposium on private enterprises held on Nov. 1, and has also introduced a series of measures to support private enterprises to reduce their financial burdens and increase efficiency. I'll introduce the situation in three aspects:
First, we have launched pilot programs for tariff guarantee insurance. We expanded the existing guarantee method by introducing insurance companies into customs tax guarantee system to ease the enterprise burden, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. We also encouraged SME innovation by exempting the tax on imported products related to scientific research and technological development for qualified SME public service demonstration platforms.
Second, we have promoted integration reforms, so that import and export-oriented enterprises can directly use the national enterprise credit information publicity system to deliver their annual reports, and no longer need to report separately to different departments. Among those qualified, more than 60 percent are private enterprises. The number of the annual report items has been reduced to around 40 from more than 120, a reduction of 70 percent.
Third, we have helped private enterprises "go global." The General Administration of Customs has promoted mutual recognition of the Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) with 36 countries and regions, and helped private enterprises to enjoy the various conveniences provided by local customs. Thank you.
CCTV:
Mr. Li, we know that in early December the cross-border e-commerce policy was further clarified through the press conference, which not only expanded the scope of the tax items, but also expanded the quota for individual transaction limits. Is there any substantial increase in annual data on retail imports and exports of cross-border e-commerce, particularly in December? Thank you.
Li Kuiwen:
Thank you for your attention. Cross-border e-commerce has always been an important area under customs supervision. China's e-commerce law took effect on Jan. 1, 2019, providing legal support for cross-border e-commerce customs supervision, protection of consumer rights and intellectual property rights. The General Administration of Customs actively cooperated with the Ministry of Commerce to study and formulate a new overall supervision plan for cross-border e-commerce after the transition period, and accordingly issued the "Announcement on Matters concerning the Supervision of Retail Imports and Exports in Cross-Border E-commerce", clarifying the scope of cross-border e-commerce supervision and the responsibility of participating subjects. This includes adding a series of new regulatory service measures; and further standardizing and strengthening the supervision of cross-border e-commerce.
There is a piece of data I would like to share with you. In 2018, the total volume of retail import and export commodities through the customs cross-border e-commerce management platform was 134.7 billion yuan, an increase of 50 percent; of which exports were 56.12 billion yuan, an increase of 67 percent; and imports were 78.58 billion yuan, an increase of 39.8 percent.
In the next step, the General Administration of Customs will further improve the information system for cross-border e-commerce retail imports and exports; improve and upgrade tax administration, quota control, and declaration management; and further meet the needs of cross-border e-commerce customs supervisions. This will also better serve internet users. Thank you.
Die Welt:
Would you like to provide us the import and export data on China's trade with Europe, Germany and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea?
Li Kuiwen:
Thank you for your question. Let me first introduce the data on China-EU. Statistics from customs show that China's trade with Europe in 2018 amounted to 4.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 7.9 percent. China's exports to the EU totaled 2.7 trillion yuan, a 7 percent increase from last year, while imports from the EU reached 1.8 trillion yuan, up 9.2 percent from the previous year. EU remains China's largest trade partner and the biggest source of imports. China and Europe are important partners in trade. Specific data on China-Germany trade will be released on the customs website, to which you are welcome to refer. Regarding China's trade with the DPRK, I can provide certain data here. According to the customs, China-DPRK overall imports and exports value totaled 16.09 billion yuan, a decrease of 52.4 percent from last year. China's exports to the DPRK reached 14.67 billion yuan, which fell by 33.3 percent, and imports totaled 1.42 billion yuan, an 88 percent drop. The trade surplus expanded 29.9 percent to 13.26 billion yuan. For China-DPRK trade, China customs have always adopted the resolutions of UN Security Council in a comprehensive and strict way. Thank you.
