China's State Council announces guidelines to stabilise trade

The guidelines proposed an acceleration of export tax rebates and the improvement of export credit insurance services to better protect smaller trade firms against the cancellation of orders before shipments.

Presently, the country's exports and imports are facing increased uncertainty, instability and imbalance, and the fundamentals of its trade operations remain unsound, the State Council said in an announcement.

Among the measures that are intended to secure orders, stabilise expectations and foster stable trade are efforts to coordinate and ensure stable commodity imports and broaden the import categories to better meet diversified consumption needs, state-controlled media outlets reported.

International consumption promotional activities are also being eyed to boost imports of consumer goods. In addition, overseas storage facilities got a mention in the guidelines, with financial institutions that offer cross-border financial services being encouraged to beef up financial support for traditional trade firms, cross-border e-commerce businesses and logistics firms so that they can build and utilise overseas warehouses.

Trade firms are expected to increase their awareness and capabilities when it comes to averting foreign exchange risks. A push for yuan-denominated cross-border settlement was also among the pro-trade measures.

The tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference in December identified demand contraction, supply shocks and weakening of expectations as major headwinds confronting the economy.

In the first 11 months of the year, the country's exports and imports rose 22 per cent year-on-year to 35.39 trillion yuan ($5.56 trillion), topping the full-year number for last year (32.16 trillion yuan), according to customs data.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)