The Press Conference and Expert Seminar for the 2024 China Import Development Report Were Successfully Held

On November 3, 2024, the press conference of the 2024 China Import Development Report and the 7th China Import Development Expert Seminar were successfully held at Beijing Normal University. The Report is jointly released by BNUBS and the China International Trade Association. The China Import Development Report is the first comprehensive report released nationwide in the field of import trade, aimed at serving the major national strategy of actively expanding imports, the major national event of the China International Import Expo, and the major national strategic deployment of telling the story of China well. Since the China International Import Expo was held in 2018, the Report has been continuously released for 7 years (2018-2024).

Professor Wang Ming, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and vice president of Beijing Normal University, Jin Xu, president of the China International Trade Association, Li Xiangyang, president and member of the academic department of the Institute of Asia Pacific and Global Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Huo Jianguo, former president of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce and vice president of the China World Trade Organization Research Association, Li Gang, former vice president of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce and vice president of the China International Trade Association, Zhang Wei, researcher of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, Hu Jiangyun, researcher of the second level inspector of the Department of Foreign Economic Research of the Development Research Center of the State Council, Professor Yu Chunhai, executive president of the School of Economics of Renmin University of China, director of Professor Wang Liyong from the School of International Economics and Trade, as well as teachers and students from relevant departments on campus, attended the meeting. Media organizations such as China Central Radio and Television, China Education Television, People's Daily Online, Xinhua News Agency, China News Service, Xinhua News Agency, Guangming Daily, Economic Daily, China Social Science Daily, Economic Reference Daily, International Business Daily, China Daily, Global Times, etc. provided support for the conference. The meeting was chaired by Professor Qi Yudong, Dean of BNUBS, and Professor Wei Hao, Associate Dean of BNUBS, Director of the National Import Research Center, and Editor in Chief of the China Import Development Report.

Professor Wang Ming, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of Beijing Normal University, warmly welcomed the guests and scholars attending the conference on behalf of the university. He mentioned that Beijing Normal University has been committed to actively serving the major strategic needs of the country, promoting the construction of a discipline system, academic system, and discourse system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, and overall enhancing the level of academic innovation and policy influence. How to do a good job in opening up in the new era, give full play to the strategic role of China's import trade, and accelerate the construction of Chinese path to modernization is a major research topic facing scholars, which also provides a golden opportunity to base on China's reality, solve China's problems, and accelerate the construction of China's independent economic knowledge system. The China Import Development Report has been continuously released for 7 years and has achieved good social impact. The release of the 2024 China Import Development Report will help further deepen the exploration of theoretical and practical issues in import trade, provide theoretical support for the adjustment of China's trade policies, and accelerate the construction of an economic powerhouse.

Professor Wang Ming, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of Beijing Normal University

On behalf of the China International Trade Association, President Jin Xu warmly welcomed the attending experts and scholars. Firstly, President Jin mentioned that the China International Trade Association is the first national international trade academic group with corporate legal status established in China after the reform and opening up. It is also an authoritative academic organization dedicated to foreign trade research and exchange, composed of people from various sectors of government, academia, and enterprises under the direct leadership of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Secondly, President Jin introduced that in the 75 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China's foreign economic and trade have achieved leapfrog development and historic achievements. He also pointed out that in the new stage of development, foreign trade remains an important component of China's open economy and an important driving force for the development of the national economy. Finally, President Jin pointed out that the role of import trade in China's economic development is increasingly prominent, and the country attaches great importance to the issue of import trade. On the eve of the 7th China International Import Expo, the joint release of the 2024 China Import Development Report by the Society and Beijing Normal University has special significance.

Jin Xu, President of China International Trade Association

Professor Qi Yudong, Dean of BNUBS, warmly welcomed the attending guests on behalf of the School. He mentioned that actively expanding imports is an important strategic deployment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to focus on the overall international and domestic development situation and steadfastly promote higher-level opening-up to the outside world. General Secretary Xi Jinping instructed: "The China International Import Expo should not only be held every year, but also at a high level, with good results, and getting better and better." Currently, the China International Import Expo has become one of the major landmark events of the country every year. Focusing on theoretical, systematic, and strategic research on import trade is a specific measure to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions. Holding a press conference on the Report is a concrete practice to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourse on import trade.

Professor Qi Yudong, Dean of BNUBS

Professor Wei Hao, Associate Dean of BNUBS and Editor in Chief of the 2024 China Import Development Report, has released the Report. The 2024 China Import Development Report includes both Chinese and English versions, focusing on the issue of "actively expanding imports and developing new quality productive forces". The main content includes six parts: theoretical, dynamic, historical, regional and country specific, product, and index sections. The Report provides a theoretical analysis of the impact of actively expanding imports on the development of new quality productivity. It not only analyzes the impact of actively expanding imports on the three basic elements of productivity, namely workers, labor materials, and labor objects, but also analyzes the evolution goals, application scenarios, and international environment of actively expanding imports on the development of new quality productivity. It reveals the path mechanism and effects of actively expanding imports to empower the development of new quality productivity.

Professor Wei Hao, Associate Dean of BNUBS

During the expert keynote speech, Dr. Li Xiangyang, Dean and member of the Academy of Asia Pacific and Global Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, first affirmed the research content of the 2024 China Import Development Report. He believed that the Report conducted detailed research on multiple topics, which was comprehensive and systematic, and would help all sectors of society objectively and comprehensively understand China's import trade issues. He pointed out that import trade plays a very important strategic role. Against the backdrop of escalating trade frictions between China and its major trading partners, import trade is an important means to maintain the balance of China's import and export trade and regional development. Import trade is a key factor in building a China centered regional value chain. Especially in the context of the accelerated "DeChinesization" of the United States and other western countries in the supply chain field, actively expanding imports will help China and major trading countries to build a more stable economic and trade cooperation relationship with the "the Belt and Road" countries. The advantage of a super large domestic market in China is an important support for actively expanding imports.

Dr. Li Xiangyang, Dean and Member of the Academy of Asia Pacific and Global Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Huo Jianguo, former director of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce and vice president of the China World Trade Organization Research Association, pointed out in his keynote speech that China's outward oriented economic development is facing multiple challenges in the current international economic situation. In this context, it has become particularly crucial to make reasonable use of import trade to alleviate the international trade frictions and reduce the degree of international trade imbalance faced by China. The academic community should further strengthen research on the import management system and mechanism, and stimulate and ensure enterprise imports through institutional optimization. In order to accelerate the construction of a diversified and balanced open system, China needs to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with countries in the global South, as well as stabilize its trade scale with Western countries such as Europe and America; We should actively pay attention to the issue of bilateral trade imbalance, proactively respond to the concerns of trading partners, and continuously improve bilateral economic and trade relations; we should also actively promote the balance between attracting foreign investment and outward investment, and further enhance the coordination between trade and investment; we should also accelerate the development of a trade imbalance index and establish a sound trade warning mechanism.

Researcher Huo Jianguo, former director of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce and vice president of the China World Trade Organization Research Association

During the keynote speech by the expert, Researcher Li Gang, Vice President of the China International Trade Association, first expressed high recognition of the 2024 China Import Development Report and pointed out the practical significance of the development of the World Import Development Index and the China Import Development Index. He believed that the import of intermediate goods includes not only general trade mode imports, but also processing trade mode imports. The proportion of processing trade mode imports in overall trade has significantly decreased. In the process of global supply chain adjustment, the impact of different import modes on intermediate goods imports is different and should be studied separately. In the future, deeper improvements should be made in trade theory to further strengthen the position and role of imports in the development of the national economy and society. He pointed out that China may enter the ranks of high-income countries in the future, on the basis of implementing zero tariffs on the least developed countries, we can consider implementing the Generalized System of Preferences for developing countries, promoting common development with the advantage of a super large market, and promoting economic growth and employment increase of trading partners.

Researcher Li Gang, Vice President of China International Trade Association

Researcher Zhang Wei, Vice President of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, pointed out in the expert keynote speech that the adjustment of international investment layout will trigger the reconstruction of the global industrial chain, which in turn will affect the global trade pattern. The proportion of foreign-funded enterprises in China's import and export has decreased, and the growth of China's outward investment has accelerated. It is necessary to study the impact on import trade from multiple dimensions, such as the utilization of foreign capital and outward investment, foreign-funded enterprises and local enterprises. The pattern of foreign investment is showing a trend of "rising in the south and falling in the north". The proportion of foreign investment attracted by developing countries in the global foreign investment is increasing, while the proportion of developed countries is decreasing. In developed countries, global foreign investment is accelerating towards the United States, while in the Asian market, the proportion of foreign investment attracted by China in the interior of Asia is relatively decreasing. This will change the industrial division of labor between China and neighboring countries, bring about changes in trade structure, and we should pay close attention to this phenomenon and conduct in-depth research. In addition, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research on China's imports of key energy, especially emerging energy sectors, while also paying attention to the changes in import structure brought about by global trends in servitization and digitization.

Researcher Zhang Wei, Vice President of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce

During the expert keynote speech, Researcher Hu Jiangyun, the second level inspector of the Foreign Economic Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, first gave high praise to the 2024 China Import Development Report. He believed that the Report profoundly revealed the importance of imports to the development of the national economy. He pointed out that imports are not only an important part of economic activities, but also an important criterion for measuring a country's ability to allocate economic resources. Strong import capacity means better utilization of global resources, thereby promoting the overall development of the national economy. Imports play an important role in creating a favorable international business environment and easing relations with other countries, especially in trade with developed countries, where imports can serve as an effective diplomatic tool. He emphasized the need to continuously strengthen systematic research on import trade-related issues, serve to promote the reform and development of the country's foreign economic and trade system, and accelerate high-level opening up to the outside world.

Researcher Hu Jiangyun, Second level Inspector of the Foreign Economic Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council

Professor Yu Chunhai, Executive Dean of the School of Economics of Renmin University of China, pointed out in the keynote speech of the experts that China's current trade pattern is undergoing profound changes. In the past, China mainly focused on exports and overseas demand. However, with the adjustment of the domestic economic structure, the importance of imports has become increasingly prominent. We need to re-examine the role of trade, especially the impact of imports on the domestic economy. He emphasized that imports are of great significance in promoting high-quality development of the domestic economy. By importing high-level products and services, imports can not only directly meet domestic production and living needs, but also promote competition in the domestic market, improve overall supply levels, and meet people's demand for a better life. However, at the same time, Chinese enterprises should also realize that domestic market competition also reflects international competition to a certain extent, and enhancing import competitiveness can lay the foundation for enterprises to enter the global market in the future. He pointed out that through the joint efforts of experts and scholars, research and practice on China's import development will reach new heights, making greater contributions to enhancing China's position and influence in the global economy.

Professor Yu Chunhai, Executive Dean of School of Economics, Renmin University of China

Professor Wang Liyong, Director of the Research Department and School of International Economics and Trade at the Central University of Finance and Economics, first affirmed the academic value of the 2024 China Import Development Report during the expert keynote speech, believing that research on import structure and its evolution path is very important. He pointed out that import trade liberalization can enhance total factor productivity through research and development promotion mechanisms. The positive impact of data import on a country's economic growth is very direct, but it should be noted that the higher the cost of a country's commodity trade with other countries, the weaker the efficiency of cross-border data flow in improving the country's economic growth. In order to further expand imports, China needs to actively promote the construction of import platforms and institutional reforms. We should also think about how to further stimulate market demand, enhance industrial transformation and upgrading, and accelerate the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade through the CIIE requires top-level design and overall consideration.

Professor Wang Liyong,the School of International Economics and Trade, Central University of Finance and Economics

Finally, Professor Wei Hao, Associate Dean of BNUBS and Editor in Chief of the 2024 China Import Development Report, summarized the speeches of the experts and expressed sincere gratitude for their strong support for the conference. The press conference of the 2024 China Import War Report and the 7th China Import Development Expert Seminar have successfully concluded.

Contributed by Sun Quangang

Reviewed by Wei Hao