Trading Together

By Li Xiaoyang

Major global financial services provider Ernst & Young （EY） was a highlight of the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services （CIFTIS）， taking place in Beijing from September 2 to 7. Especially its China Overseas Investment Network caught great attention. The system covers around 70 countries and regions， and helps Chinese companies enter these markets through services such as feasibility analysis， risk evaluation， policy introduction and legal consulting.

“EY has provided these services to over 3，000 Chinese enterprises， launching more than 60，000 overseas investment projects over the past three years，” Beatrice Lian， Public Relations Manager of EY Beijing， told Beijing Review. The company was one of the enterprises attending the digital service zone at this years CIFTIS.

Established for the first time in 2021， the zone carried the theme Enabling a Digital Future， Driving Development With Services. CIFTIS is a major platform for trade in services in China. With an exhibition area of approximately 130，000 square meters， the 2021 edition attracted more than 10，000 enterprises from 153 countries and regions. Among them， 2，400 firms showcased their products and services offline， with the remainder making use of the fairs digital platforms. It also featured eight thematic exhibitions.

Digital trade and services such as online education， medical care and financial services for foreign trade enterprises were a major focus this year. These sectors have recently seen growing demand， especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of September 7， a total of 1，672 agreements had been signed， according to its organizers.

A growing market

In contrast to merchandise trade， trade in services refers to the sale and delivery of intangible products such as transportation， tourism， telecommunications， construction， advertising， computing and accounting.

China has continuously expanded opening up in the service industry. According to a report that was released during this years CIFTIS， in 2020， China had 21 pilot free trade zones and 31 cities where trade in services were encouraged. After the government unveiled its plan to build a digital trade demonstration zone in Beijing in 2020， it added four new pilot zones for trade in services in Hainan Province， Tianjin， Shanghai and Chongqing in April.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM） showed that Chinas trade in services rose by 7.3 percent year on year to nearly 2.81 trillion yuan （$435.02 billion） in the first seven months of this year. The share of trade in technology-intensive services in the total service imports and exports exceeded 40 percent. In January-July， Chinese enterprises signed service outsourcing contracts worth about 976 billion yuan （$150.47 billion）， up 27.8 percent year on year.