To reduce the impact of the epidemic on foreign trade China is in action

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on February 3, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade issued the first force majeure factual proof of pneumonia of a new type of coronavirus infection to a manufacturing company in Zhejiang on the 2nd, helping enterprises to minimize the responsibility of failing to perform the contract due to the epidemic situation, and maintaining the legality of the enterprise rights and interests. On January 26, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) added an online application function for real-time force majeure certification on the certification platform. In view of the current epidemic situation, many small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in foreign trade have difficulty completing contract orders on time, and such a certificate will undoubtedly provide support for these small and medium-sized enterprises and help them overcome the difficulties.

The so-called factual proof of force majeure is a factual proof act in the field of commercial proof, which refers to the application by the CCPIT and its authorized branches and branches to prove the facts related to force majeure. Or all exempt from liability for non-performance, incomplete performance and delay in performance of the contract. According to international trade practices and the "Promotions of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade", the CCPIT can issue force majeure certificates. Under the current epidemic situation, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade has issued such a statement, which has provided protection for some foreign trade companies at the legal level.
On February 3, Deputy Minister of Commerce Wang Bingnan gave an example at the press conference of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The Suzhou Municipal Government of Jiangsu Province has issued ten policies in response to the epidemic to support small and medium-sized enterprises to overcome difficulties. In fact, the central government departments and local governments at all levels are making precise policies for enterprises to do a good job of exporting.
This fully shows that while the epidemic of the people's war in the country has been fighting, how to reduce the impact of the epidemic on China's foreign trade and even the Chinese economy has attracted attention. The sudden outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus is indeed a test for the task of "stabilizing foreign trade." Some foreign trade companies are under considerable cash flow pressure. But what needs to be seen is that many international financial institutions believe that the impact of the epidemic on China's economy is only a "short-term shock." IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said on January 30 that some adverse effects of the epidemic on China's economy were only temporary. UBS's latest research report judges that if the epidemic can be successfully contained, it is expected that China's economic growth will rebound in the next few quarters due to a rebound in demand and potential government stimulus measures.
Next, in order to minimize the negative impact of the epidemic on foreign trade and do a good job of exporting enterprises, all parties need to work together to respond.
First, we must strictly control the epidemic situation and continue to do a good job in relevant information disclosure. Since the World Health Organization announced that the pneumonia outbreak of the new coronavirus infection has been classified as a public health emergency of international concern, some foreign businesses have cancelled normal trade. Pan Helin, Executive Dean of the Digital Economics Research Institute of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, believes that the main reason why some foreign companies cancel trade with Chinese companies is that they do not know enough about China's epidemic prevention and control, resulting in panic. Therefore, the Chinese government needs to continue to strictly control the epidemic and continue to be open and transparent, so that foreign investors can be assured of Chinese and Chinese products, so as to reduce the impact on China's foreign trade.
Secondly, the central government and local governments can initiate emergency funds in a timely manner to ease the pressure on the capital chain of foreign trade enterprises. At present, due to the epidemic situation, some foreign trade enterprises have a funding gap, and the operation of the capital chain is difficult, making it difficult to repay the pressure of bank lending. In response to this situation, the central government and local governments can set up a certain size of "bail-out fund" to provide certain foreign trade enterprises that operate with integrity and whose products comply with national and provincial industrial policies, have good production and operation conditions, and have no bad credit records. The credit line of these enterprises reduces the pressure on these foreign trade enterprises in terms of capital chain. In fact, after the current difficult period, as long as normal economic and trade exchanges and capital flows resume, many foreign trade companies can quickly get rid of the pressure of the capital chain, and then promote the development of China's foreign trade.
Finally, under the current epidemic situation, foreign trade enterprises should also perform commercial contracts as much as possible. Although the factual force majeure provided by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade can alleviate the difficulties of some foreign trade companies, this does not mean that all foreign trade companies are encouraged to apply for this certificate. On the contrary, if conditions permit, foreign trade enterprises should do their best to fulfill foreign trade orders. As long as they are open and transparent and fully disinfect products, it will help reduce losses in foreign trade. Pan Helin believes that “fishing in busy times and replenishing nets in free time”, foreign trade enterprises should also cooperate with the government to do a good job of epidemic control at this stage, internally use this time to consolidate their core competitiveness, and use cloud office to do a good job Product research and development, design, etc., and the government can also consider reducing or delaying taxation on foreign trade companies to ensure that the company passes the current special period. (Chen Yang, commentator, Overseas Network)