Page 22 - REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT

credit loans and cut the time for processing export tax rebates to less than six
working days. Foreign exchange services were improved.

We developed new forms of foreign trade, built 152 new integrated pilot zones
for cross-border e-commerce, and supported the establishment of overseas
warehouses. Major trade events such as the China International Import Expo, the
China Import and Export Fair, the China International Fair for Trade in Services,

and the China International Consumer Products Expo delivered positive results.
We simplified customs clearance procedures and reduced the clearance time
for imports and exports by 67 percent and 92 percent, respectively, bringing about
a significant reduction in related compliance costs. The overall tariff level fell from

9.8 percent to 7.4 percent over the five years.
We advanced trials for innovative development of trade in services across the
board and adopted the negative list for cross-border trade in services. With steady
growth, imports and exports have bolstered China’s economic development.
We took proactive and effective moves to utilize foreign investment. The

regulations for implementing the Foreign Investment Law were issued, further
improving the business environment for foreign investors. Market access for
foreign investment was also steadily expanded. Items on the negative lists for
foreign investment respectively covering the whole country and pilot free trade

zones were reduced by 51 percent and 72 percent. The entire manufacturing sector
was generally opened up, and opening in finance and other service sectors was
continuously enhanced.
A total of 21 pilot free trade zones have been established in China, and steady

strides have been made in the development of Hainan Free Trade Port. Across all
localities, new approaches were developed to strengthen services for promoting
foreign investment, and greater efforts were made to attract foreign investment
and facilitate project implementation. With a large number of major foreign

investment projects launched in our country over the past five years, China has
remained a favored destination for overseas investment.
We promoted high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. We remained
committed to achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration,
observed market principles and international rules, and carried out a number of

projects to boost connectivity and industrial capacity cooperation. Imports and
exports between China and other BRI countries increased at an annual rate of 13.4
percent, and exchanges and cooperation between China and these countries

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