The “Market Procurement Trade Method Pilot” to facilitate the foreign trade of small, medium and micro enterprises export has been launched at the Xiliu Market in Haicheng City, Liaoning Province, filling a gap in the Northeast region. Operators of clothing, shoe and hat wholesale markets across the Northeast no longer have to borrow boats to go to sea.
In the minds of many people, foreign trade is not the strong point of Northeasterners, especially for small, medium and micro retail investors. Can the small town of Xiliu subvert this inherent impression? What changes have the country’s trade facilitation policy brought to the “small towns” of Xiliu? What efforts are they making under the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic? The reporter recently came to Xiliu Town to see their happiness and listen to their troubles.
The end of the year is usually the off-season for export trade in Xiliu Garment Market, Haicheng, Liaoning. At the end of 2021, customs declarer Ren Hongjian was very busy. He showed reporters the thick customs declaration form in his hand and said: “The state’s approval of the Xiliu market procurement trade pilot seems to have given individual industrial and commercial households a boost. Foreign trade exports have experienced a blowout in the off-season. We are busy and happy.”
Why is the pilot so popular? Wang Wenkai, who sells men’s clothing at stall 1393 in Block A of Xiliu Mall, explained the reason: In the past, only companies with import and export rights could engage in foreign trade. Now the threshold has been lowered, and self-employed individuals can directly declare for export; especially for “small bulk” with small orders and miscellaneous goods. “For example, in the future, you can combine containers with large customers (referring to companies) to go overseas. You can not only enjoy the VAT exemption policy, but also save the trouble of declaring orders one by one and clearing customs.
After the reporter conducted in-depth interviews, it seems that the benefits and problems of the procurement trade facilitation reform are more than superficial.
No more making wedding dresses for others
“If there were no pilot project like Xiliu, the self-employed people in the Northeast who are engaged in clothing exports would still have to borrow ships to go to sea as before, resell the clothing to buyers or distributors in the south, put their labels on them, and then export them.” Jinbao Liu Qiang, general manager of Garment (Haicheng) Co., Ltd., believes that he is the biggest beneficiary of the pilot policy.
Looking back on the days when there was no import and export rights a year ago, Liu Qiang felt that he was working hard to make wedding dresses for others. For example, a piece of cotton clothing can be sold directly to overseas customers for an average of 80 yuan, but if sold to domestic channels for export, it can only be sold for about 75 yuan. Although the selling price of a cotton coat is only a few yuan, what about 1 million pieces?
Liu Qiang believes that competition in the clothing trade is fierce now, and every penny must be calculated carefully. “Domestic sales are having a hard time. Although the gross profit is greater than export sales, the pressure of handling tail goods and inventory is really unbearable. Direct exports to overseas are all produced according to orders and there is no inventory pressure.” Liu Qiang said that in the face of the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic, the scale All clothing business owners have to “turn two wheels together” in domestic and foreign trade. They are lucky to catch up with the timely support of the state to support foreign trade.
For Jinbao Garments, whose export volume in 2021 has exceeded US$10 million, it is clear that the “wheel” of foreign trade is turning faster. Liu Qiang said proudly, “I have been meeting with a German client in the past two days. He has been in isolation for more than a month just to see me in China.”
Why are you so charming?
“Because the quality is good.” Liu Qiang smiled and led reporters to visit the company’s cotton clothing exhibition hall. He also opened the lining of the cotton clothing and emphasized: “This trimming, this fabric , the workmanship is outstanding!” Liu Qiang is very proud that Jinbao Garments now has its own brand, and has been rated as China’s growing clothing brand and one of the top ten men’s clothing brands in Liaoning. It does not need to use other people’s brands when selling in Europe.
“Give a little sunshine and it will shine.” Li Xiaomin, director of the Market Procurement Service Center of Haicheng City Commerce Bureau, summed up the acumen of Xiliu people in seizing business opportunities. Otherwise, why was the first pilot project in Northeast China chosen to be in Xiliu? Li Xiaomin introduced that at present, small and medium-sized retail traders in Xiliu market still enjoy many conveniences for foreign trade. First, VAT is exempted and non-refundable. In the past, self-employed businesses had difficulty in enjoying tax refunds because they could not provide VAT invoices for raw material procurement and processing. Even if the upstream and downstream invoices were complete, they had to wait for 1 to 3 months. Now they are exempted directly. The imposition of value-added tax is the most direct benefit to merchants; second, foreign exchange settlement is convenient, individual merchants are allowed to open foreign exchange accounts, and RMB settlement is supported, and foreign purchases can be transferred via WeChat.
“Fast customs clearance helps more small, medium and micro ‘locally made’ products in Xiliu enter the international circulation circle.” Wang Zhe, director of Anshan Customs, which is affiliated with Dalian Customs, said that Anshan Customs is fully promoting the Haicheng Xiliu market procurement trade pilot and a series of support measures The effect was obvious on the ground. Xiliu Garment City has launched a pilot project of the national market procurement trade method on June 29, 2021. As of December 21, 2021, Xiliu Garment has declared a total of more than 1,700 exports under the new market procurement trade method, with an export volume of US$220 million and an export volume of 88 countries and regions, exporting more than 400 kinds of commodities. A total of 6,037 registered export suppliers and 44 foreign trade operating enterprises have been registered.
On the morning of December 23, 2021, “Kaka”… Customs inspectors put a seal on the container for customs transit. Ren Hongjian breathed a sigh of relief as he watched trucks loaded with large containers drive out of the Xiliu Professional Market Cluster Supervision Site in China. Another batch of Xiliu clothing that he declared through customs embarked on an overseas journey.
Xiliu’s “capable people”
<pIn terms of logistics costs, he said: "The logistics cost is increased by about 8 yuan per piece of clothing, the transportation time is extended by more than half a month, and the payment period is longer. The lethality of seasonal goods such as clothing is simply It’s fatal.”
Zhang Tong, general manager of Sino-Swiss International Logistics (Dalian) Co., Ltd., who has been a freight forwarder for more than ten years, constantly laments the difficulties he encounters today. He gave an example. More than a year ago, the shipping fee for a large container (standard container) from Dalian to Tokyo, Japan, was only US$100, but now the cost has soared to US$1,700. Ocean freight rates to Europe have also increased more than 10 times. When the destination is blocked by the port, it is common to be jammed for more than 20 days. “You said that when the cotton-padded clothes worn in winter are shipped to the local area, the locals wear half-sleeves. How can we explain to the owner of the goods?” Zhang Tong sighed repeatedly as he spoke.
Zhang Tong believes that the market procurement trade pilot is an innovative turning point. “As an efficient, fast and low-cost new foreign trade method, it can hedge against some adverse factors caused by the epidemic. I agree with both hands and look forward to the sustainable reform policy.” “.
“The market procurement trade pilot is not only for Xiliu, but also for Northeast China.” The tone of the relevant leaders in Haicheng City was anxious. Just around Xiliu, there is Tongerbao Leather City in Liaoyang City, an outdoor sportswear base in Dandong City, and a swimwear market in Huludao City. They all have cross-border trade needs. How to mobilize the market resources of related products in Liaoning Province and even the Northeast to gather in Haicheng to share the convenience of pilot projects? Xiliu spent a lot of money on advertising out of his own pocket, but the effect was limited. Xiliu has also successively carried out many tasks such as the registration of market procurement trade entities and the overseas expansion of the Silk Road·Xiliu Station. It has set itself 15 tasks such as “expanding the outward orientation of market clusters”.
The “sincerity” of Xiliu still needs to be felt more.
How is the online trading life?
“I feel so good wearing this, I wear it myself…” Xiliu individual merchants Wang Mingdong and Danni switched to e-commerce and started live streaming Goods, already has 1.25 million fans.
In the clothing online wholesale center in Xiliu, hundreds of shops on the three floors are full of merchants who are live broadcasting. Tian Lishen, who was once in charge of e-commerce promotion at Xiliu Garment Group, said that due to the “one-off” epidemic, self-employed individuals in the Xiliu market, whose offline business has been greatly affected, have transformed one after another. E-commerce transaction volume has increased significantly, reaching 13.2 billion yuan in 2020 and 18 billion yuan in 2021.
Why do you always act as your own anchor instead of hiring internet celebrities? Wang Mingdong tells the truth – he can’t afford to hire one. The “pit fee” for a live broadcast is tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan, and giving big influencers rebates of up to 20% or even 30% is equivalent to making money at a loss.
“The only way to reduce the high threshold for live streaming and selling goods is for the government to build a platform.” Tian Lishen said that it is very important for the town government to invest in the construction of live broadcast bases to prevent producers’ profit margins from being squeezed. He gave the example of Internet celebrities competing for the “lowest price on the entire Internet” gimmick, which seems to drive consumption, but in fact it forces manufacturers into a dead end. Either they “run orders” and cannot guarantee supply, or they cut corners and materials, and it is the consumers who suffer the loss. .
“Where can I find the lowest price that is lower than the low price?” Liu Qiang couldn’t help asking. He said that Xiliu people, who are oriented towards mass consumption, have maximized the meager profit points of the labor-intensive garment industry. It is precisely because of the same quality and low price that the southern merchants who used to wait for Xiliu to ship their goods in the first few years have recently come to Xiliu to get their goods. How do you achieve the ultimate? Xiliu clothing manufacturers that are struggling to survive in the cracks, in order to save more than 2,000 yuan per month in labor costs, many moved to remote villages in western Liaoning, using the winter slack to hire workers to alleviate the labor shortage.
The high barriers to entry for e-commerce and even cross-border e-commerce discourage production operators. Xiliu people have tried many times to connect with cross-border e-commerce giants, but all failed due to the huge investment required. Although there are some self-employed people who rent online stores and connect overseas, due to the lack of talents in small languages, they can only cover a small number of English-speaking countries and regions.
Xiliu Market decided to cultivate its own Internet celebrities. Relying on its scale, Xiliu Garment Group has signed cooperation agreements with Kuaishou, Douyin, and Pinduoduo to provide free training and even live streaming traffic to small and medium-sized retail investors. “E-commerce companies must also standardize employment with certificates. Random rumors and price cuts are unacceptable, and no one can destroy Xiliu’s brand,” Tian Lishen said.
AAAretytuoiuo3453345klj,hfg
