State Council Office on
　　
　　Further Opinions on Stabilizing Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment
　　
　　Guobanfa [2020] No. 28

　　
　　Currently, the international epidemic continues to spread, the world economy is in serious recession, and China's foreign trade and foreign investment are facing a complex and severe situation. To thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and directives on stabilizing the basic盘of foreign trade and foreign investment, implement the decisions and deployments of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, do a good job in the "six stability" work, implement the "six guarantees" tasks, further strengthen the work of stabilizing foreign trade and foreign investment, stabilize foreign trade entities, and stabilize the industrial chain and supply chain, with the consent of the State Council, the following opinions are hereby put forward:
　　
　　1. Better play the role of export credit insurance. Under the premise of controllable risks, China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (SINOSURE) actively safeguards against the risk of order cancellation before shipment. Before the end of 2020, according to the application of foreign trade enterprises, SINOSURE can reasonably change the payment period of short-term insurance or extend the payment grace period and reporting loss period. (Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and SINOSURE shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)
　　
　　2. Support qualified localities to replicate or expand the financing model of "credit insurance + guarantee." Encourage qualified localities to support government-backed financing guarantee institutions to participate in risk sharing and provide a certain percentage of guarantees for loan principal in addition to export credit insurance indemnities. Commercial banks, under the condition of "credit insurance + guarantee," shall reasonably determine the loan interest rate. (Local people's governments, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and SINOSURE shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)
　　
　　3. Provide credit enhancement support for foreign trade enterprises' financing in various ways. Give full play to the role of the National Financing Guarantee Fund and local government-backed financing guarantee institutions, participate in risk sharing in the financing of foreign trade, and support and guide various financial institutions to increase financing support for small and micro foreign trade enterprises. (Local people's governments, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, People's Bank of China, and China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.) Encourage banking institutions, in combination with their internal risk management requirements, to cooperate with qualified foreign trade service platforms to obtain trade-related information and credit assessment services, optimize the review of the authenticity of trade backgrounds, and better serve foreign trade enterprises. (Local people's governments, Ministry of Commerce, and China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)
　　
　　4. Further expand the provision of export credit to small and micro foreign trade enterprises. Better play the role of financial support, further increase credit provision to small and micro foreign trade enterprises, and alleviate the problems of financing difficulties and high financing costs. (Local people's governments, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, People's Bank of China, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and Export-Import Bank of China shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)
　　
　　5. Support the development of new trade formats. Expedite the establishment of a new batch of pilot programs for market procurement trade methods in qualified areas, striving to expand the total number of pilot programs nationwide to about 30, driving the export of small and micro enterprises. (Ministry of Commerce takes the lead, local people's governments, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs, State Taxation Administration, State Administration for Market Regulation, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.) Make full use of existing channels such as the special funds for the development of foreign economy and trade and the guiding fund for the innovative development of service trade to support the development of cross-border e-commerce platforms, cross-border logistics, and overseas warehousing. Encourage Export-Import Bank of China, SINOSURE, and other financial institutions to actively support the construction of overseas warehouses under the premise of controllable risks. (Ministry of Commerce takes the lead, Ministry of Finance, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, Export-Import Bank of China, and SINOSURE shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.) Deeply implement the management measures for foreign trade comprehensive service enterprises to handle tax refunds on their behalf, continuously optimize tax refund services, and continuously accelerate the tax refund process. Increase the credit cultivation of foreign trade comprehensive service enterprises, so that more foreign trade comprehensive service enterprises that meet the certification standards can become "certified operators" (AEO) of the customs. (Ministry of Commerce, General Administration of Customs, and State Taxation Administration shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)
　　
　　6. Guide the gradient transfer of processing trade. Encourage qualified localities to combine local realities and support the gradient transfer of processing trade through funds and other methods. Cultivate a batch of processing trade industrial parks jointly built by the eastern and central and western regions and the northeast region. Utilize platforms such as the China Processing Trade Products Expo to improve the mechanism for industrial transfer and docking. Encourage the central and western regions and the northeast region to give play to their advantages and undertake labor-intensive foreign trade industries. (Local people's governments, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Commerce shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)
　　
　　7. Increase support for labor-intensive enterprises. For export enterprises of labor-intensive products such as textiles, garments, furniture, shoes and boots, plastic products, luggage, toys, stone materials, agricultural products, and consumer electronics, further increase support on the basis of implementing tax cuts and fee reductions, export credit, export credit insurance, stable employment, electricity and water use, and other universal policies. (Local people's governments, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Ministry of Commerce, People's Bank of China, State Taxation Administration, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, Export-Import Bank of China, and SINOSURE shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)
　　
　　8. Help large and backbone foreign trade enterprises solve problems. Study and determine the list of large and backbone foreign trade enterprises, sort out the needs of large and backbone foreign trade enterprises and their core supporting enterprises, establish a problem processing system, promote the solution of contradictions and problems encountered in production and operation, provide support in various aspects of import and export, and provide services on a "one enterprise, one policy" basis. Study support measures to further accelerate the export tax refund process for large and backbone foreign trade enterprises under the premise of controllable risks. (Ministry of Commerce takes the lead, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, General Administration of Customs, State Taxation Administration, Export-Import Bank of China, and SINOSURE shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)
　　
　　9. Expand online channels for foreign trade. Promote "one country, one exhibition online," support and encourage qualified local governments and key industry associations to hold online exhibitions. Make good use of special funds for the development of foreign economy and trade and, within the prescribed scope, support small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises in developing markets and participating in online and offline exhibitions. Give full play to the role of domestic trade associations, overseas institutions, and overseas Chinese-funded enterprise associations, actively connect with foreign trade associations, and help export enterprises connect with more overseas buyers. (Local people's governments, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Commerce shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)
　　
　　10. Further improve the level of customs clearance facilitation. Continuously optimize the business environment at ports, continue to consolidate and compress the overall customs clearance time for goods, further promote the standardization and reduction of compliance costs in import and export links, promote the "one-stop sunshine price" of port charges at qualified ports, and improve the transparency and comparability of port charges. Increase the provision of technical trade measure consultation services to export enterprises and assist enterprises in developing overseas markets. Promote the expansion of market access for oils and fats, meat, and dairy products, promote imports, and ensure market supply. (General Administration of Customs is responsible.)
　　
　　11. Improve the convenience for foreign business personnel to come to China. Under the premise of strictly implementing epidemic prevention requirements, continue to negotiate with relevant countries to establish "fast channels" to provide convenience for the movement of personnel urgently needed for important business, logistics, production, and technical services for foreign trade and foreign investment enterprises. Continue to fully implement the "fast channel" for foreigners who meet the conditions to come to China for work resumption and production resumption. Referencing the practices of the "fast channel," based on the principle of "giving priority to epidemic prevention, ensuring necessities, strengthening responsibilities, and ensuring convenience," make convenient arrangements for foreigners coming to China to engage in necessary economic and trade, scientific and technological activities. Support local areas, in combination with the characteristics of market procurement trade methods, to open special channels to facilitate foreign merchants' entry into the market for procurement and to prioritize the return of foreign merchants residing in China to the market as soon as possible. Under the premise of doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control, gradually and orderly resume personnel exchanges between China and other countries. In accordance with the deployment of the State Council's joint prevention and control mechanism, increase the total number of international passenger flights in stages, and appropriately increase the number of civil flights with my main investment sources under the condition of complete epidemic prevention certificates, making it convenient for foreign business personnel to come to China. (Local people's governments, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce, Immigration Administration, and Civil Aviation Administration of China shall be responsible according to their respective responsibilities.)
　　
　　Twelve. Provide financial support to key foreign-funded enterprises. Existing special quotas of RMB 1.5 trillion for re-loans and re-discounting are equally applicable to foreign-funded enterprises. Increase financial support for key foreign-funded enterprises; the Export-Import Bank of China's additional loan quota of RMB 570 billion can be used to actively support eligible key foreign-funded enterprises. Commerce authorities in all provinces and municipalities should ascertain the financing needs and operating conditions of key foreign-funded enterprises in their jurisdictions, promptly share information on key foreign-funded enterprises with banking and financial institutions, strengthen cooperation between local foreign-funded enterprise associations and other institutions and banking and financial institutions, promote "bank-enterprise docking," and banking and financial institutions should actively ensure the financing needs of key foreign-funded enterprises according to market principles. (Local people's governments, the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Commerce, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and the Export-Import Bank of China shall be responsible according to their respective duties.)
　　
　　Thirteen. Increase support and services for key foreign-funded projects. For key foreign-funded projects with investments exceeding US$100 million nationwide, a list will be compiled, and services and support will be increased in terms of sea use, land use, energy consumption, and environmental protection, etc., in the pre-construction, construction, and production phases, treating domestic and foreign investment equally. (Local people's governments, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment shall be responsible according to their respective duties.)
　　
　　Fourteen. Encourage more foreign investment in high-tech industries. Promote the facilitation of the identification, management, and services of high-tech enterprises, further strengthen training and publicity and interpretation for foreign-invested enterprises applying for high-tech enterprise identification, focus on strengthening policy services for enterprises in emergency areas such as epidemic prevention and control, and attract more foreign investment to high-tech and people's livelihood and health sectors. (The Ministry of Science and Technology shall take the lead, and the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration shall be responsible according to their respective duties.)
　　
　　Fifteen. Lower the threshold for foreign-funded R&D centers to enjoy preferential policies. Lower the number of full-time research and experimental development personnel required for foreign-funded R&D centers to apply for supportive tax policies for technological innovation imports, encourage foreign investment in China to establish R&D centers, and improve the quality of investment attraction. (The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead, and the Ministry of Commerce and the State Taxation Administration shall be responsible according to their respective duties.)
　　
　　All regions and departments should be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, enhance the "four awarenesses," strengthen the "four confidences," and uphold the "two safeguards," resolutely implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, raise their positions, take active actions, and earnestly implement them. All regions should combine their actual conditions, improve supporting measures, earnestly organize and implement them, and promote the implementation of various policies in their regions. All departments should strengthen cooperation and work together according to their respective responsibilities to ensure that all policies are implemented effectively.