China to set up 29 new demonstration zones for import promotion
The zones will be responsible for promoting trade and facilitating innovation in trade, and they are expected to be set up in almost every provincial-level region, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Central China's Henan Province and Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, according to a statement on the Ministry of Commerce's (MOFCOM) website.
As Chinese consumers' demand for quality and specialty goods and services is on the rise amid the domestic consumption upgrading, the zones will expand the import of quality products and boost healthy competition in the Chinese market, said Bai Ming, deputy director of the international market research institute at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
The zones will shoulder the responsibility of enlarging services and goods imports based on the characteristics of provincial industries and markets, while developing innovative import models, Bai told the Global Times on Thursday.
China has set up 14 such demonstration zones in recent years, which have helped boost deep integration between imports and domestic production and consumption, Bai said.
For example, the demonstration zone in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, is focused on sectors including wine, baby formula and healthcare products. It has developed six platforms whose transactions have exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.37 billion), according to data from MOFCOM.
The Chinese authorities have implemented policies to promote the import of some advanced technologies, equipment and services as well as products related to improving people's livelihood this year. For instance, China has trimmed tariffs on 954 imported goods, optimized the goods list and import procedures for e-commerce, and increased the supply of imported energy and agricultural products.
Reflecting its strong trade resilience, imports totaled 13.44 trillion yuan, up 5.2 percent year-on-year, in the first three quarters of the year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
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