State Council Office issues document: Support inspection, testing, certification, and accreditation service organizations to provide one-stop services

Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Promoting the Integrated Development of Domestic and Foreign Trade

State Office Issuance [2021] No. 59

People's Governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, all ministries and commissions of the State Council, and all directly affiliated institutions:

Promoting the integration of domestic and foreign trade is conducive to forming a strong domestic market and facilitating smooth domestic and international dual circulation. In recent years, the integration of domestic and foreign trade in our country has made significant progress, but there are still problems such as an imperfect regulatory system, insufficient ability to coordinate the use of two markets and two resources, and unsmooth integration of domestic and foreign trade development, which cannot fully meet the needs of building a new development pattern. To thoroughly implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council and promote the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, with the consent of the State Council, the following opinions are hereby put forward:

I. Overall Requirements

(1) Guiding Ideology. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and its plenary sessions, based on the new development stage, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, strengthen reform and innovation-driven, product benchmarking-driven, channel docking-driven, main body leadership-driven, digital empowerment-driven, and service optimization-driven efforts, promote high-level alignment of domestic and foreign trade laws and regulations, regulatory systems, business qualifications, quality standards, inspection and quarantine, certification and accreditation, reduce institutional costs for enterprises to switch markets, improve the ability to coordinate the use of two markets and two resources, promote coordinated development of domestic and foreign trade, imports and exports, serve the construction of a new development pattern, and achieve higher-level opening up and higher-quality development.

(2) Basic Principles.

Adhere to government guidance and market dominance. Give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, better utilize government policy guidance and public service functions, fully mobilize enterprise enthusiasm, enhance the integrated operation capability of market entities in domestic and foreign trade, and stimulate endogenous development momentum.

Adhere to reform and opening up and rule alignment. Accelerate institutional opening up, promote institutional and model innovation, advance system and mechanism reforms step by step, continuously remove institutional barriers to the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, promote alignment of institutional rules, and optimize the environment for integrated development of domestic and foreign trade.

Adhere to a systematic concept and coordinated promotion. Strengthen top-level design and overall planning for the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, focus on the present and look to the long term, highlight key points, use points to drive the whole, improve the institutional system, work system, and evaluation system for integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, and comprehensively, coordinately, and continuously promote integrated development of domestic and foreign trade.

(3) Development Goals. By 2025, the alignment of domestic and foreign trade laws and regulations, regulatory systems, business qualifications, quality standards, inspection and quarantine, certification and accreditation will be more effective, the integrated development level of market entities in domestic and foreign trade will be further improved, the domestic and foreign connectivity network will be more complete, government management services will be continuously optimized, the integrated regulatory system for domestic and foreign trade will be more sound, achieving efficient operation and integrated development of domestic and foreign trade.

II. Improve the Institutional System for Integrated Domestic and Foreign Trade

(4) Improve laws and regulations. Promote the improvement of a legal and regulatory system conducive to the integration of domestic and foreign trade, review and promote the revision of laws, regulations, rules, and normative documents that hinder the integration of domestic and foreign trade. (Relevant departments and regions are responsible according to their duties) Improve the punitive compensation system for intellectual property infringement, increase damage compensation, implement strict intellectual property protection, and enhance enterprises' enthusiasm for innovation and domestic sales of products. (Market Supervision Administration, National Intellectual Property Administration, and regions are responsible according to their duties)

(5) Improve the regulatory system. Benchmark against international advanced levels, promote alignment of domestic and foreign trade regulatory rules, advance information exchange, mutual recognition of supervision, and law enforcement cooperation between domestic and foreign trade regulatory departments, improve the precision and effectiveness of supervision, and optimize the business environment for domestic and foreign trade. Strengthen antitrust and anti-unfair competition law enforcement, reinforce fair competition review, clean up and correct unfair practices and implicit barriers such as local protectionism, industry monopolies, and market segmentation, promote the formation of a unified national market, and facilitate smooth flow and optimal allocation of domestic and foreign trade resources and factors. (Relevant departments and regions are responsible according to their duties) Deepen customs international cooperation, strengthen information exchange with trade partners on technical trade measures, port supervision, product compliance, promote international network verification of inspection and quarantine certificates, actively and prudently advance acceptance of third-party inspection results, and improve facilitation of customs clearance, fund settlement, and taxation. (General Administration of Customs, Market Supervision Administration, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and regions are responsible according to their duties)

(6) Strengthen rule alignment. Strengthen international cooperation within frameworks such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization and multilateral mechanisms, actively participate in international rule-making. Promote the implementation of the Free Trade Zone upgrade strategy, sign free trade agreements with more trade partners. Strengthen alignment of domestic market rules with internationally accepted trade rules, ensure trade policy compliance, implement higher standard rules in trade liberalization and facilitation, intellectual property protection, e-commerce, bidding and tendering, government procurement, better connect domestic and international markets, and promote enterprises to expand domestic and foreign trade business. (Led by the Ministry of Commerce, with the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs, Market Supervision Administration, National Intellectual Property Administration, and regions responsible according to their duties)

(7) Promote standard and certification alignment. Actively carry out domestic and international standard conversion, fill domestic standard gaps, improve technical standards, and continuously enhance consistency between domestic and international standards. Encourage domestic enterprises and institutions to actively participate in international standardization activities, strengthen cooperation with upstream and downstream enterprises in the global industrial chain, and jointly formulate international standards. Support third-party conformity assessment service institutions such as inspection, testing, certification, and accreditation to provide one-stop services for domestic and foreign trade enterprises, encourage international development of third-party conformity assessment service institutions. Deepen international cooperation under frameworks such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, promote continuous improvement of mutual recognition of conformity assessment results between conformity assessment bodies and governments. Simplify mandatory product certification procedures related to export-to-domestic sales conversion and shorten processing time. (Market Supervision Administration, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and regions are responsible according to their duties) Strengthen certification and management of green food, organic agricultural products, and geographical indication agricultural products, improve quality and safety levels of domestic and foreign trade agricultural products. Unify sustainable forest and grassland management certification standards, align with international forest certification standards, and increase supply of high-quality domestic and foreign trade forest and grassland products. (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Market Supervision Administration, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, and regions are responsible according to their duties)

(8) Promote same line, same standard, same quality. Promote "three sames" for domestic and foreign trade products (same production line, same standard, same quality), drive domestic related industries to accelerate quality improvement and upgrading, and optimize supply and demand structure. Encourage enterprises to make self-declarations that their products meet the "three sames" requirements or entrust third-party institutions to conduct quality evaluations based on the "three sames" requirements. Build a "three sames" public service platform to strengthen services for enterprises. Strengthen publicity and promotion of "three sames" enterprises and products to improve consumer awareness. (Market Supervision Administration, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Commerce, and regions are responsible according to their duties)

III. Enhance the Capacity for Integrated Development of Domestic and Foreign Trade

(9) Support integrated domestic and foreign trade operations of market entities. Encourage large-scale commerce and logistics enterprises with conditions to "go global," strengthen resource integration and allocation, optimize the international marketing system, and improve the global service network. Support the development of multinational large supply chain service enterprises to enhance international competitiveness and strengthen the resilience of industrial and supply chains. Cultivate a group of high-quality trade enterprises with strong innovation capabilities and competitive strength that coordinate and promote domestic and international markets, guiding more enterprises to adopt integrated operation models. Benchmark against advanced international standards for agricultural product planting and production, build a number of high-quality agricultural product planting and production bases, and cultivate modern agricultural enterprises integrating planting, breeding, processing, production, supply, marketing, and integrated domestic and foreign trade. Increase guidance and service efforts for enterprises to improve intellectual property management capabilities. Strengthen regional brand building and accelerate the cultivation of independent brands. (National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, General Administration of Customs, State Administration for Market Regulation, State Post Bureau, National Intellectual Property Administration, and relevant regions according to their responsibilities)

(10) Innovate the integrated development model of domestic and foreign trade. Promote digital development of domestic and foreign trade, fully utilize modern information technology, accelerate online and offline integration, promote production and sales connection, supply and demand matching, drive transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and cultivate new business forms and models of domestic and foreign trade. Support innovative developments such as reverse customization (C2M) and smart factories to enhance enterprises' flexible production and market demand adaptability, promoting integration of domestic and foreign trade industrial and supply chains. Steadily advance the construction of comprehensive pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce, encourage cross-border e-commerce platforms to improve functions for better connection with domestic and international markets. Promote standardized and healthy development of cross-border e-commerce retail imports and enrich product supply. Replicate and promote pilot experiences in innovative development of service trade to improve the liberalization and facilitation level of service trade. (Led by the Ministry of Commerce, with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, General Administration of Customs, State Taxation Administration, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, State Post Bureau, and relevant regions according to their responsibilities)

(11) Strengthen the cultivation and training of professional talents for integrated domestic and foreign trade. Enhance the adaptability of vocational and technical education, strengthen integration of production and education, school-enterprise cooperation, innovate and promote talent training models such as "foreign language + vocational skills," explore the apprenticeship system with Chinese characteristics, and promote upgrading and digital transformation of related majors. Cultivate professionals familiar with domestic and international laws, regulations, and market environments, further improve the lifelong vocational skills training system, and provide talent and skill support for enterprises to improve integrated domestic and foreign trade operation capabilities. (Led by the Ministry of Education, with relevant departments and regions according to their responsibilities)

4. Accelerate the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade

(12) Build a high-level institutional platform for integrated domestic and foreign trade development. Leverage the demonstration and leading role of free trade pilot zones and free trade ports, benchmark against high-standard international economic and trade rules to promote high-level institutional openness, and facilitate integrated development of domestic and foreign trade. Utilize the roles of national economic and technological development zones, comprehensive bonded zones, cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, and other open platforms and industrial clusters to actively explore new models and measures for integrated domestic and foreign trade development, promoting the docking and integrated development of domestic and foreign trade systems and mechanisms. (National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce, General Administration of Customs, and other relevant departments and regions according to their responsibilities)

(13) Build platforms for integrated domestic and foreign trade development. Improve the facilitation level of market procurement trade methods, attract the agglomeration of local characteristic industries, and drive more market entities to expand foreign trade business. Promote interconnection and interoperability between key commodity trading markets and foreign marketing networks, cultivate a group of domestic commodity trading markets with operation models aligned with international standards, and build distinctive regional or international commodity distribution centers. Fully utilize internationally influential exhibition platforms such as the China International Import Expo, China Import and Export Fair, and China International Fair for Trade in Services to enhance exchanges between domestic and foreign markets. Promote the construction of national import trade promotion innovation demonstration zones to fully play roles in promoting imports, serving industries, boosting consumption, and providing demonstration and guidance. (Led by the Ministry of Commerce, with the Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs, and relevant regions according to their responsibilities) Build platforms for redirecting exports to domestic sales, support domestic commerce enterprises and foreign trade enterprises in direct order procurement, guide foreign trade enterprises to accurately connect with domestic market consumption demand, and expand domestic sales markets through multiple channels. (Led by the Ministry of Commerce and relevant regions according to their responsibilities)

(14) Improve the interconnected logistics network for domestic and foreign trade. Strengthen international air cargo capacity building, enhance international maritime shipping competitiveness, promote high-quality development of China-Europe freight trains, and accelerate facilitation of international road transport. Guide foreign trade enterprises, cross-border e-commerce, and logistics enterprises to strengthen business collaboration and resource integration, accelerate the layout of overseas warehouses, distribution centers, and other logistics infrastructure networks, and improve logistics operation and asset utilization efficiency. Optimize urban logistics distribution networks and address the "last mile" shortcomings in urban delivery. Continue supporting infrastructure construction for commerce and logistics in central and western regions and county-level areas, strengthen coordination and sharing, smooth circulation networks between regions and between urban and rural areas, reduce circulation costs of domestic and foreign trade goods, and promote efficient access to domestic and international markets. (National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation Administration of China, State Post Bureau, and relevant regions according to their responsibilities)

5. Improve Guarantee Measures

(15) Strengthen fiscal and financial support. Under the premise of complying with multilateral and bilateral economic and trade agreement rules, increase support for integrated domestic and foreign trade development. Coordinate and make good use of existing fiscal support policies to promote innovative integrated development of domestic and foreign trade. Encourage financial institutions to increase credit support for domestic and foreign trade according to market principles, innovate financial products based on accounts receivable, inventory, warehouse receipts, orders, insurance policies, etc., of domestic and foreign trade enterprises, and strengthen financial services. Further expand the coverage of export credit insurance and domestic trade credit insurance. (National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, People's Bank of China, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, and relevant regions according to their responsibilities)

(16) Carry out integrated domestic and foreign trade pilot projects. Conduct integrated domestic and foreign trade pilot projects in some regions, comprehensively review the problem list and demand list of the integrated domestic and foreign trade regulation system, promote the connection of domestic and foreign trade laws and regulations, supervision systems, business qualifications, quality standards, inspection and quarantine, certification and accreditation, etc., explore establishing an integrated domestic and foreign trade evaluation system, cultivate a group of enterprises operating integrated domestic and foreign trade, build a number of integrated domestic and foreign trade development platforms, and form a batch of replicable and promotable experiences and models. (Led by the Ministry of Commerce, with relevant departments and pilot regions according to their responsibilities)

(17) Leverage the role of industry organizations. Encourage industry associations and chambers of commerce to formulate and release integrated domestic and foreign trade product and service standards, participate in the formulation of national standards, industry standards, and relevant policies and regulations. Actively utilize third-party service agencies and market intermediary organizations to enhance market-oriented and professional service capabilities. (State Administration for Market Regulation, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, and relevant regions according to their responsibilities)

(18) Strengthen organizational leadership. All regions and relevant departments should fully recognize the importance of promoting integrated domestic and foreign trade development, strengthen organizational leadership, improve work mechanisms, implement work responsibilities, and closely coordinate and cooperate. The Ministry of Commerce leads the establishment of an inter-ministerial working mechanism to promote integrated domestic and foreign trade development, working with relevant departments to strengthen coordination and guidance to ensure effective implementation of all tasks. Regions should study and determine specific policy measures to promote integrated domestic and foreign trade development based on their actual conditions and promote practical results. Major issues should be reported and requested for instructions in a timely manner.

General Office of the State Council

December 30, 2021

(This document is publicly released)