China’s 14th Five Year Services Trade Development Plan Stresses Cross-border Payments and Financing

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A new services trade policy issued by the Chinese central government stresses the development of cross-border payments and financing during the period of the 14th Five Year Plan.

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) lead the issuance of the “14th Five Year Services Trade Development Plan” (“十四五”服务贸易发展规划) on 19 October.

Key targets outlined by the plan include:

  • Further expanding the scale of trade and further optimising the trade structure.
  • Accelerated development of new business models.
  • Growth in international services outsourcing that is in excess of growth in services exports.
  • Annual growth in knowledge-intensive services trade of around 8%.
  • Further improvements to the policy and regulatory environment.
  • The comprehensive establishment of a high quality services trade development environment by 2035.
  • Strengthening of endogenous drivers for services trade development.
  • International competitiveness in terms of services trade rising to the forefront globally.
  • Marked strengthening of new advantages for participation in international economic cooperation and competition.
  • A marked increase in the status of “Chinese services” in the global value chain.
  • Orderly reduction of restrictive measures for services trade in areas including cross border payments, offshore consumption, and natural person mobility.

The Plan also places heavy emphasis on the development of cross-border payments and finance to expedite growth in China’s services trade, with key measures including:

  • Steady development of financial services trade.
  • Supporting domestic financial institutions to establish healthy offshore branch institutions and services networks.
  • Expanding the vigour of support for enterprises to expand international markets.
  • Encouraging financial institutions in the innovation of financial products and services that suit the unique features of services trade development.
  • Driving upgrade and improvement to the functionality of the renminbi cross-border payments system (CIPS).
  • Expediting the convenience of cross-border payments.
  • Using new forms of information technology to raise the financial services level, and raising the international market competitiveness of China’s financial services.