DOHA, QATAR, 19 APRIL 2012
STRENGHTEN COOPERATION FOR MUTUAL BENEFITS AND WINWIN, PROMOTE NEW DEVELOPMENT OF
GLOBAL TRADE IN SERVICES
Lv Jijian
Deputy Director-General
Department of Trade in Services and Commercial Services
Ministry of Commerce of China
Strengthen Cooperation for Mutual Benefits and Win-Win,
Promote New Development of Global Trade in Service
Speech by Mr. Lv Jijian,
Deputy Director-General of the Department of Trade in Services and Commercial
Services of the Ministry of Commerce of P.R.China
At the Global Services Forum
19 April, 2012
Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to attend the inaugural International Services Forum held
by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Doha. On behalf of
the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, I would like to thank
UNCTAD for your longstanding interest in and support for the development of trade
in service in China. First, I’d like to make some observation on the state of play of
trade in services.
Currently, the world has entered a service-based age. The output of service industry
accounts for 70% of the total economic production of the world and the value of
service export has increased from around 14.3% to 20% of the total value of the
global export. Particularly since the beginning of this century, service trade has seen
explosive growth, through the ongoing structural adjustment. It displays the following
four new development trends.
First, global trade in service has been developing faster than trade in goods.
Since 2000, world trade in service has been growing at 9.3% annually, faster than the
8.8% annual growth rate of trade in goods. Second, emerging economies are
witnessing faster development than developed countries. From 2000 to 2008, the
annual growth rate of service export in India, Russia, China, and Brazil reached 25%,
23%, 22%, and 16% respectively, higher than the 8% in North America and 13% in
Europe. Moreover, in the wake of the financial crisis, emerging economies like the
BRICS has recovered faster than developed economies in service trade. Third,
emerging trade in service with high added value takes a larger share than the
traditional trade in service. For instance, the share of computer and information
service, and consulting service have been expanding whereas transport and tourism
have been shrinking, falling below 50% for the first time in 2006. The development of
cloud computing and the internet of things will further reinforce the trend. Fourth,
trade in services in the form of commercial presence has exceeded cross-border
service trade. The focus of international industrial transfer has shifted from
manufacturing to services. Currently, cross-border investment in service industry
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accounts for approximately two thirds of the total. Trade in services in the form of
commercial presence accounts for more than half of the total volume of global trade
in service.
According to our observation, these new trends of world trade in service mainly stem
from three profound changes in the global service industry.
First, tertialization of the manufacturing industry. With the advent of the
post-industrial age, more and more countries are concerned about the tension between
man and nature. Our planet is overburdened with depleting resources and a polluted
environment. The service industry and trade, featured by lower resource consumption,
less environmental pollution, and greater job-generating capacity, have been
increasingly attractive to over-polluted countries and emerging economies. We have
seen an increasing number of manufacturers transforming themselves to service firms,
as well as a rapidly growing share of intermediate input of service in manufacturing.
So the secondary industry is being tertialized.
Second, informatization of the service industry. Technology innovation based on IT
and the internet has informatized the service industry, which has facilitated service
transaction and enhanced the tradability of services. A new wave of IT reform based
on cloud computing and the internet of things has not only given rise to new business
formats, but also expanded the existing capacity and the high value-added
components of the industry.
Third, internationalization of the service industry. The multilateral trade regime
provides a stable and predictable free trade framework, under which member nations
eliminate their respective restrictions on market access. This process has accelerated
the internationalization of the service industry. Service trade, promoting more
products and services of different nations to integrate into the global value chain at a
faster speed, has become the bond for global economic and trade activities and
cross-border operation of enterprises. Multinational enterprises accelerate global
resources integration and internationalization through offshore service outsourcing
and transnational investment.
Amidst the profound changes brought about by economic globalization, China has
been actively adapting to the new trends in the world economy. It has accelerated the
transformation of its economic development pattern, explored new paths for
promoting economic growth and trade, and prioritized the development of the service
industry and trade to advance its economic goals. Since its accession to the WTO ten
years ago, China has enjoyed rapid development in its service industry and trade. The
share of the service industry its GDP is increasing steadily, reaching 43.1% in 2011.
China’s service export and import has been increasing at an annual rate of 19.3%,
amounting to 419.1 billion $ in 2011. Meanwhile, China’s international ranking in
service trade has been rising. In 2010, China’s service export and import ranked
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fourth and third in the world respectively. Nevertheless, four structural imbalances
persist, namely, the imbalanced development between trade in service and trade in
goods, between export and import, between different regions, and structural
imbalances in the international market, all of which need to be resolved in the process
of development.
With per capita GDP exceeding USD5,000, China will further pick up pace in the
development of its service industry and trade. The Chinese government attaches great
importance this momentum. The Guiding Principles of China’s 12th Five-Year Plan
for National Economic and Social Development (2011-2015) sets forth that service
industry should be vigorously developed and that the development of the service
industry is a strategic focus to optimize and upgrade the industrial structure. During
the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period, the value added of services as a proportion of the
GDP should increase by four percentage points. The Ministry of Commerce in
conjunction with other government departments, formulated the Outline of the
Twelfth Five-Year Plan for Trade in Services, according to which the total volume of
China’s trade in services is expected to reach USD600 billion by 2015, with an
average annual growth rate of over 11%.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Although the global financial crisis in 2008 has resulted in profound adjustments and
changes in world economic structure, the global industrial structure is still dominated
by the service sector, and the international trade featured by fast growth in trade in
service. The trend of economic globalization and free flow of trade and investment
remain unchanged. Moreover, the tertialization,
informatization and
internationalization of the manufacturing industry is gaining momentum.. A new
round of international industrial transfer featured by cross-border relocation and
elements recombination will be accelerated. Vigorously developing service trade will
remain an important path for nations around the world to be fully involved in
economic globalization. We are willing to work together with other countries to
promote global service trade development and economic growth. Let me take this
opportunity to share with you two propositions.
First, China is willing to build a platform to promote exchange and cooperation
in service industry between different nations. The Chinese government plans to
hold the inaugural China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in
Beijing from May 28 to June 1 this year. The fair will be held annually. With the
theme of Trade in Services: New Vision, New Opportunities, New Development,
CIFTIS is the only national-level, international and comprehensive fair for trade in
services covering all the 12 sub-sectors in trade in service. It will promote talks and
transactions in service trade between global enterprises, strengthen the information
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sharing in service industry between nations around the world, and promote the
common development of service trade in China and elsewhere in the world. At the
end of 2011, the Chinese government established the Shanghai International
Technology Exchange Center， which aims to serve as a basis for the technology
trade and cooperation between China and the rest of the world, and promote the
“bringing in” and “going global” of advanced applicable technologies. We hope that
through CIFTIS and other trade promotion platforms, we will effectively promote
service export, actively expand service import, and conduct mutually beneficial
exchanges and cooperation with more countries and regions.
Second, China is willing to strengthen cooperation in service trade with nations
all over the world. In the process of developing service trade, China attaches great
importance to broad international cooperation. In recent years, we have established
working ties with world organizations such as the WTO, the IMF, UNCTAD and the
OECD to share trade statistics and policy information. We have also established
collaborative mechanisms with developed countries, including the UK, Germany,
Australia, and Ireland. While learning from developed countries, we are also actively
carrying out cooperation with developing countries. For instance, we have the
Featured Day for African countries to showcase their service industry at the upcoming
CIFTIS. We will carry on the spirit of mutual benefit and strive for the common
development of service trade in countries around the world.
In conclusion, I would like to express my appreciation to UNTAD for its efforts on
promoting the development of trade in service in the world. I’m convinced that this
forum will build consensus and offer strategic vision on development.
Wish the forum a great success.
Thank you.
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