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Recently, the Development Plan for Trade in Services during the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan Period, complied by MOFCOM and other 23 authorities, has been published. What are the key areas of China’s services trade for the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan period?(2021-10-21)

Recently, MOFCOM, the NDRC and other 22 authorities jointly published the Development Plan for Trade in Services during the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan Period, specifying the development goals of services trade for Fourteenth Five-Year Plan period and long-term goals through the year 2035 and putting forward key tasks for services trade in the next stage, which include deepening reform and expanding opening-up, accelerating digitalization, optimizing industrial structure, improving regional layout, nurturing market entities and advancing international cooperation.

In compiling the plan, the following aspects were taken into consideration.

First, meeting the trends of trade in services. In keeping with digital, network and smart application in services trade, the plan dedicated a chapter to services trade digitalization, and incorporated digital trade for the first time in such plans. In order to implement the major strategic decisions of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, the plan named green development as one of its principles.

Second, highlighting the leading role of reform and opening-up. The plan has a special chapter titled “Deepening reform and opening-up of trade in services” that discusses broader services market access, greater openness of cross-border trade in services and high-quality platforms for reform and opening-up, and puts forward a negative-list system for cross-border trade in services, These contents demonstrate China’s resolution and confidence in relentlessly expanding opening-up.

Third, taking a problem-oriented approach to tackle development difficulties. To address such problems as imbalanced regional development, lack of international competitiveness and insufficient access, the plan gives a systemic account on improving regional layout, cultivating market entities and deepening international cooperation.

Fourth, identifying key steps to transform and upgrade services trade. The plan contains 14 boxes, covering major actions and programs, including developing demonstration zones for innovation-driven development, digital trade demonstration zones and demonstration zones for international cooperation on services trade, exploring characteristic services export bases, and making the China International Fair for Trade in Services more professional, market-oriented and up to international standards. These are all key steps towards implementation of the plan.

With ongoing improvements of the services trade platforms, innovation-driven development of China’s trade in service will surely pick up speed during the Fourteenth Five-year Plan period.

In the next step, MOFCOM will work with relevant authorities to carry out the tasks of the plan, to achieve high-quality development of China’s trade in services. Thank you.