SZ tops foreign trade competitiveness list

Shenzhen ranked first among China's top 100 foreign trade cities for 2020, according to a list released recently by China Customs magazine sponsored by the General Administration of Customs.

Shenzhen dominated the No. 1 position for 13 consecutive years since the journal published the foreign trade comprehensive competitiveness ranking in 2008. Shanghai and Suzhou ranked second and third respectively for the 2020 list. Moreover, Shenzhen also scored the highest for capacity and potential competitiveness indexes.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Shenzhen's foreign trade industry has maintained a strong momentum. In 2020, the city's total import and export value reached 3.05 trillion yuan (US$477.69 billion), up 2.4 percent from the previous year, ranking second in China. The city's total import value was 1.35 trillion yuan, up 3.6 percent, ranking third in the country, while its total export value was 1.7 trillion yuan, up 1.5 percent, ranking first among mainland cities for 28 years in a row.

In terms of the processing trade industry, Shenzhen Customs has implemented a pilot reform, shortening administrative procedures for enterprises, which enjoy customs examination guarantee payment exemptions. During the first three quarters, Shenzhen's total import and export value in this sector grew 20.3 percent year on year, reaching 640.09 billion yuan.

In terms of the advanced manufacturing export industry, Shenzhen continues to play a highly competitive role in the global market this year. Shenzhen's sound industrial chains and company clusters in South China enable micro, small and medium-sized businesses to export commodities to foreign countries.

In terms of the cross-border e-commerce industry, Shenzhen's Qianhaiwan Free Trade Port Area took lead in rolling out cross-border e-commerce import and export business pilot policies in 2013. Statistics showed that the export and import value of cross-border e-commerce regulated by Shenzhen Customs has increased 35 times in the last five years, pushing forward with Shenzhen's foreign trade structure optimization. The authority is also actively building a logistics system combining multiple transportations by sea, rail and land.

A total of 10 cities from Guangdong Province entered the listing for the top 100 foreign trade cities. Apart from Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Foshan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing and Zhanjiang made it to the list.