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It will also promote the resumption of work and production in various countries and alleviate global economic losses caused by the epidemic on time, he added. Gustavo Girado, a professor at Argentina's National University of Lanus, said that the pandemic has brought huge challenges to global trade, and with global activities drastically reduced, trade in services concerning digitization and communications is crucially important.
Farid Murad, vice president of the Federation of Sao Paulo Trade Associations, said that a successful CIFTIS will reveal a new path for countries around the world to resume economic development in the post-pandemic era, and promote economic and trade cooperation among countries worldwide. New engine for growth
In recent years, trade in services has become increasingly important and dynamic in international trade, and China's services trade has particularly seen rapid growth. Since 2012, China's services trade has grown at an average annual rate of some 7.8 percent, higher than the global growth rate, according to China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC). Services trade in China totaled over 5.4 trillion yuan (about 775.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019, ranking the second in the world for six consecutive years, the MOC said.
Trade in services has become a new supporting point for China's economic stability and a new engine for its development of foreign trade under the new circumstances, said An Yuhua, a professor of finance with South Korea's Sungkyunkwan University.
China has a huge market and abundant imported products, An said, adding that expanding trade in services can help achieve economic complementarity and mutual benefits between China and other parts of the world. With a ravaging pandemic and a reeling world economy, international demand has been shrinking substantially, and global trade now faces a grim situation.
In April, the World Trade Organization warned that global trade is expected to fall by 13-32 percent in 2020 as the pandemic disrupts economic activity and life around the world.
Douglas McWilliams, deputy chairman of Centre for Economics and Business Research, said that before the pandemic hit the world, global trade in services grew faster than trade in goods.
However, in the post-pandemic era, with an increasing proportion of the service industry in the global economy and the vigorous development of digital trade in services driven by technological advancement, the share of services trade in global trade will continue to increase, McWilliams said.
An said that trade in goods has been greatly restricted as the pandemic has not been effectively controlled around the world, but services trade industries such as communications, finance, entertainment and culture may benefit from opportunities created by the pandemic, and grow rapidly with broad prospects.
Model of broader opening-up
Against the backdrop of the ongoing pandemic, the CIFTIS demonstrates the responsibilities China has undertaken, and the country's determination to unswervingly promote its opening-up policy, which will surely be furthered by the event.
"Affected by the pandemic, countries around the globe should cooperate and embrace opening-up," said An, who believes that the CIFTIS shows China's willingness and commitment to further opening up.
The event will help further ease market access in the service sector, promote the development of global trade in services and create a larger market for it, An said. President of Hong Kong Singapore Business Association Philip Chan reckons that the CIFTIS reveals China's dedication to its responsibility for the world, contributing to market opening and free trade around the world.
The CIFTIS provides another platform for China to defend free trade, multilateralism and the interests of developing countries, Girad said, adding that the event embodies fair trade, mutual benefits and win-win cooperation, as well as the notion of a community with a shared future for mankind.
By building open platforms such as the CIFTIS, China is taking actions to show its commitment to build a community with a shared future for mankind, setting an example for the world, said Li Jun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the MOC.
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