This sudden new coronavirus is a test for China’s foreign trade, but it does not mean that China’s foreign trade will lie down.
In the short term, the negative impact of this epidemic on China’s foreign trade will soon appear, but this effect is no longer a “time bomb”. For example, in order to combat this epidemic as soon as possible, the Spring Festival holiday is generally extended in China, and the delivery of many export orders will inevitably be affected. At the same time, measures such as stopping visas, sailing, and holding exhibitions have suspended the exchange of personnel between some countries and China. Negative effects are already present and manifest. However, when the World Health Organization announced that the Chinese epidemic was listed as PHEIC, it was suffixed with two “not recommended” and did not recommend any travel or trade restrictions. In fact, these two “not recommended” are not intentional suffixes to “save face” to China, but fully reflect the recognition given to China’s response to the epidemic, and they are also a pragmatism that neither covers nor exaggerates the epidemic which performed.
In the medium and long term, China’s foreign trade development endogenous growth momentum is still strong and powerful. In recent years, with the accelerated transformation and upgrading of China’s manufacturing industry, the transformation of foreign trade development methods has also accelerated. Compared with the SARS period, China’s Huawei, Sany Heavy Industry, Haier and other companies have reached the world’s leading positions. “Made in China” in communication equipment, construction machinery, household appliances, high-speed rail, nuclear power equipment and other fields are also Well-known in the market. From another perspective, in order to deal with the new type of coronavirus, the import trade has also fully played its roles, such as importing medical equipment and masks.
It is understood that, in view of the inability to deliver goods on time due to the epidemic situation, the relevant departments are also helping enterprises to apply for “proof of force majeure” to minimize the losses suffered by enterprises. If the epidemic is extinguished within a short period of time, disrupted trade relations can easily be restored.
As for us, a foreign trade manufacturer in Tianjin, it’s really thoughtful. Tianjin now has confirmed 78 cases of this novel coronavirus, it’s relatively low in comparison to other cities thanks to the effective contain measures of local government.
Regardless of whether it is short-term, medium-term or long-term, relative to the SARS period, the following countermeasures will be effective in resisting the impact of the new coronavirus on China’s foreign trade: First, we must increase the driving force for innovation and actively cultivate new advantages in international competition. Further consolidate the industrial foundation for the development of foreign trade; the second is to expand market access and continuously improve the business environment to allow larger foreign companies to take root in China; the third is to combine the “One Belt and One Road” construction to find more international markets There are many business opportunities. The fourth is to combine the “double upgrade” of domestic industrial upgrading and consumption upgrading to further expand domestic demand and make good use of the opportunities brought about by the expansion of the “Chinese branch” of the international market.