On December 17, 2021, the fifth "National Frontier Training in International Economics" lecture series hosted by BNUBS was successfully held. We invited famous economists, young and middle-aged well-known scholars, business department leaders to share their ideas and discuss academic frontiers and major practical issues. The activity in the first half was a special lecture on “Giving full play to the Advantages of super-large market and Improving the Role of Import Trade” jointly held by The China Society of International Trade and BNUBS, which was carried out online and offline. The afternoon part was for famous scholars to share ideas and engage in discussion, which was carried out online and offline. The two activities attracted more than 850 people from universities, research institutes and industry organizations all over the country.   

 

The activity in the morning was a special lecture on “Giving full play to the Advantages of the Super-large market and Improving the Role of Import Trade” jointly held by The China Association of International Trade and the School of Economics and Business Administration of Beijing Normal University, with more than 500 live viewers and about 150 online participants. Mr. Jin Xu, President of China Association of International Trade, and Mr. Qi Yudong, Dean of BNUBS delivered speeches respectively. Bian Zhenhu, Vice President of China Association of International Trade chaired the meeting.

 

 

Picture 1. The Seminar in the morning

 

First of all, President Jin Xu of the China Association of International Trade delivered a speech. President Jin introduced the 14th Five-year Plan for High-quality Development of Foreign Trade issued by the Ministry of Commerce in November this year, stressing the importance of foreign trade in China's current economic development. Subsequently, he elaboratedon the high-quality development direction of China's foreign trade during the "14th Five-year Plan", which were to adhere to the five principles of innovation-driven, green leading, digital empowerment, mutual benefit and safe development and focus on the comprehensive strength of foreign trade, improve the level of coordinated innovation, enhance the ability of smooth circulation, deepen the open development of trade and improve the five goals of trade security system. In the end, President Jin Xu highly affirmed the practical significance of this meeting and thanked BNUBS for its great support.

 

 

Picture 2. Dean Qi Yudong delivered a speech

 

 

Then Qi Yudong, Dean of BNUBS, delivered a speech. President Qi first introduced the development of Theoretical Economics in BNUBS, emphasizing that it is in the leading position in Theoretical Economics in China. Thenhe pointed out that this year marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the 20th anniversary of China's deepening reform, and the 20th anniversary of benefiting the world. However, economic globalization is facing a headwind and factors of instability and uncertainty are increasing. So, it is of great practical significance to discuss how to give full play to the advantages of China's super-large market and enhance the role of import trade.In the end, President Qi wished the event a success.      

 

The host of the morning session is Bian Zhenhu, Vice President of China Association of International Trade. There are four guests who deliver keynote speeches and they are Professor Wei Hao, Director of The National Import Research Center,BNUBS, Researcher Du Guochen, Ministry of Commerce Research Institute, Cao Derong, President of China Chamber of Commerce of Food, Native Produce and Livestock Importers and Exporters, and Yin Min Head of National Pavilion Project of Jingdong International Division.

 

 

 

Picture 3. Professor Wei Hao of BNU delivered a speech

 

 

The first speaker in the morning is Professor Wei Hao, Director of The National Import Research Center and Professor of BNUBS. The topic of his speech is "Connotation, Facts and Prospect of China's Active Import Expansion". Professor Wei Hao introduced and summarized the strategic shift of China's foreign trade goal from emphasizing export to expanding import and focused on the significance of China's international Import Expo in promoting imports. Then He systematically introduced the development status of China's import since China's entry into wto, the necessity of expanding import trade and the special economic significance of import to China's current economic development. In addition, Professor Wei Hao sorted out the development of China's import scale of goods and services since the epidemic and since China's ACCESSION to the WTO, and introduced in detail the comparison of China's import scale and import tariffs with other developed and developing countries in the world, as well as China's position. Then, professor Wei Hao sorted out some research results that are different from people's general cognition based on China's import list, and focused on introducing the successful experience of Shenzhen, Chengdu and Suzhou in expanding imports.Finally, Professor Wei Hao gave the future outlook and policy suggestions for China's import expansion.     

 

 

 

Picture 4. Du Guochen, Researcher of The Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce delivered a speech

 

The second speaker in the morning is Du Guochen, Associate Director of the E-commerce Research Institute of the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, and the topic of his speech is "Improving cross-border E-commerce Policies and Promoting import Trade". Researcher Du Guochen introduced the topic of his speech with the hot news that ambassadors from Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and other countries sold products through live broadcast. Then, he systematically introduced the rapid growth of cross-border e-commerce in China, the high concentration of goods traded, increasingly diversified trading partners and regional pattern showing the characteristics of strong east and weak west. He pointed out that China's cross-border e-commerce has been continuously strengthened policy support and gradually improved international cooperation mechanism. Finally, Du Guochen pointed out the challenges and development trends of China's cross-border e-commerce and emphasized the role of digital service market in promoting the development of cross-border e-commerce in the future.

 

  

 

Picture 5. Cao Derong, President of China Chamber of Commerce of Food, Native Produce and Livestock Importers and Exporters delivered a speech

 

The third speaker in the morning is Mr. Cao Derong, President of China Chamber of Commerce of Food, Native Products and Livestock Importers and Exporters. The topic of his speech was“Actively Expanding the Import of Agricultural Products and Promoting the High-quality Development of the Trade of Agricultural Products”. President Cao first stressed that import markets for agricultural products played an important role in China's economic development and the fact that China's import of agricultural products has accelerated significantly, the structure of imported commodities has been constantly optimized, the import market concentration is high and the main body of the import market is active. Then he analyzed the current situation of China’s import market of agricultural products, including the tight balance between supply and demand of domestic agricultural products, the prominent “big country effect”, the beneficial effect of opening up policy for export, the actively implementation of the first-phase agreement between China and the US and the high consolidation of export of agricultural products. Finally, Cao Derong said that brand promotion, channel sinking and digital growth will be the key to the high-quality development of China's agricultural imports in the future. With the accelerating growth of high-quality resources in the global agricultural products and food industry chain, the continuous release of dividend of China's import policy, and the upgrading of food consumption of domestic residents, the future of China's agricultural products import market is full of hope.  

 

 

 

Picture 6. Yin Min, Head of National Pavilion Project of Jingdong International Division delivered a speech

 

The fourth speaker in the morning is Yin Min, Head of National Pavilion Project of Jingdong International Division. The theme of her speaking is “Giving Full Play to the Advantages of the Platform to Promote the Import of Consumer Goods”. Ms. Yin Min first reviewed the development process and scale of China's cross-border e-commerce. It is estimated that Chinese online shopping users will reach 235 million in 2021, indicating the huge potential of China's import market. Then, Ms. Yin Min introduced the positioning, strategy and major projects of Jingdong International. She said that Jingdong International would give better play to the advantages of online platform, expand the CIIF online and expand the effect of offline exhibition. Finally, she said that she would continue to actively respond to the national policy and strive to become a member of the "Import" national team, so as to do more for the country to expand imports and better meet the needs of consumers.   

 

 

 

Picture 7. Li Gang, Vice President of China International Trade Association, made a concluding speech

 

Finally, Li Gang, Vice President of China International Trade Association, summed up the four lectures in the morning.First of all, Li Gang highly affirmed the practical significance of the seminar and summarized the speeches of the four guests. He pointed out that the speeches of the four distinguished guests can provide beneficial enlightenments for the stable formation of the new double-cycle development pattern and the high-quality development of the whole economy in China. Finally, Li Gang expressed his thanks to all the guests.

 

The afternoon activity was held in conference room 1722, Rear Main Building, Beijing Normal University, with a total participation of 200 people online and offline. There are four guestswho delivered speeches on relevant research. They are Professor Hong Junjie, Vice President of UIBE, Changjiang Scholar and Member of the Subject Appraisal Group of The State Council; Professor Sheng Bin, Dean of the School of Economics, Nankai University, Changjiang Scholar, Member of the Subject Appraisal Group of The State Council;  Professor YangRudai, Peking University School of Economics, Changjiang Scholar and Professor Shen Guobin, Deputy Director, Institute of World Economics, Fudan University. We also invited Professor Ma Hong, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Young Changjiang Scholar; Professor Wang Xiaosong, School of Economics, Renmin University of China, Top Talent in National Ten Thousand Talents Program; Professor Gao Lingyun, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Professor Shi Bingzhan, Young Changjiang Scholar, School of Economics, Nankai University and Dai Mi, Associate Professor, BNUBS. The afternoon session was moderated by Professor Wei Hao from BNUBS.

 

 

 

Picture 8. Online and offline meeting in the afternoon

 

 

Picture 9. The host, Professor Wei Hao, BNUBS

 

The first speaker in the afternoon was Professor Yang Rudai from the School of Economics of Peking University,Changjiang Scholar. The topic of his speech was"Origin Principle of Value-added Tax, Principle of the Place of Consumption and The Construction of Domestic Unified Big Market”. Starting from the background of China's rapid development in the past few decades, Professor Yang introduced the research on the construction of a unified and smooth domestic market. Then, Professor Yang introduced the main content of the paper in detail, that is, from the perspective of taxation, studied the influence of VAT from the production-place principle to the consumption-place principle, and made a quantitative analysis. Finally, Professor Yang introduced the conclusion of the article: according to the principle of consumption place VAT, we can alleviate the fiscal revenue imbalance between regions to a certain extent.

 

 

Picture 10. Professor Yang Rudai, the School of Economics of Peking University, Changjiang Scholar

 

In the discussion part, Professor Ma Hong Pointed out that in the past, the flow of Labor Market in China gradually relaxed, but there were restrictions on the flow of commodity market, and there would be resource mismatch, that is, a large number of labor flew from inland to coastal areas. Professor Gao Lingyun pointed out that we should consider cost in the tax reform. Professor Wang Xiaosong further pointed out the reason of the difficulty for some small local brands to flow to other countries, adding that there may be some barriers that are not easy to quantify, such as marketing channels. Professor Dai mi suggested that trade costs of goods and services could be studied separately. Professor Shi Bingzhan believed that the shift from seller's tax to buyer's tax may not have a theoretical impact, while Professor Shen Guobing proposed that integration can be promoted through brands by strengthening the brand effect of intellectual property.    

 

 

The second speaker in the afternoon is Professor Shen Guobing, Deputy Director of the Institute of World Economy of Fudan University. The topic of his speech is “Non-tariff Barriers and China's import diversification”. First of all, Professor Shen Guobing stressed that the implementation of RCEP and CPTPP would lead to zero tariff barriers for most products in the Asia-Pacific region. In this context, non-tariff barriers would become a key factor restricting China's further promotion of high-level opening-up. Then, Professor Shen Guobing analyzed the construction process of the theoretical model in detail, showed the calculation results of non-tariff barrier, and explained the empirical methods and data sources used in the research. Finally, He pointed out that the reduction of non-tariff barriers in China is conducive to the diversification of China's import sources, and the reduction of non-tariff barriers in China's import sources is conducive to the diversification of China's import products. 

 

 

 

Picture 11. Professor Shen Guobing, Deputy Director of the Institute of World Economy of Fudan University.

 

In the discussion, Professor Gao Lingyun pointed out that in addition to examining the positive effects brought about by the reduction of non-tariff barriers, the corresponding security issues should also be considered. Professor Wang Xiaosong discussed the selection of instrumental variables in the research and put forward suggestions. Professor Dai Mi believed that the correlation between source countries should be taken into account when measuring the diversification of import sources.

 

The third speaker in the afternoon is Professor Sheng Bin, Dean of the School of Economics of Nankai University, Changjiang Scholar and member of the Discipline Appraisal Group of The State Council. His speech is entitled “Economics of Trade Disputes”. First, Professor Sheng Bin analyzed the causes of trade disputes, such as trade imbalance, market access barriers, manipulation of market forces and so on. Then, Professor Sheng Bin pointed out the shortcomings of existing trade theories in the analysis of trade disputes, and talked about the evolution of the focus issues of trade disputes. Finally, Professor Sheng Bin proposed a series of solutions to future trade disputes, such as rebuilding WTO dispute settlement mechanism and strengthening the implementation and supervision of existing rules.

 

 

Sheng Bin, Dean of the School of Economics of Nankai University, Changjiang Scholar and member of the Discipline Appraisal Group of The State Council

 

In the discussion, Professor Ma Hong said that industrial policy is likely to play an increasingly important role in future trade disputes, and it is essential. Professor Wang Xiaosong pointed out that it is worth studying to introduce trade policies and rules in the heterogeneous framework, and to integrate China program into the mature theoretical framework. Professor Hong Junjie mentioned the need to strengthen the building of international economic and trade rules that are friendly to the global industrial chain and supply chain, such as more inclusive and relatively high standard rules on intellectual property rights, connectivity and carbon emissions.

 

The fourth speaker in the afternoon is Professor Hong Junjie, Vice President of The University of International Business and Economics, Changjiang Scholar and Member of the Subject Appraisal Group of The State Council. The topic of his speech is “The Theory of Mutual Promotion of Double Circulation under the New Development Pattern: Theory and Evidence”. First of all, Professor Hong introduced the realistic background of the research from the perspective of the international environment and China's reality. Then, Professor Hong analyzed the influence mechanism of international cycle on domestic cycle and domestic cycle on international cycle, explained the construction process of theoretical model and empirical method adopted in the research in detail, and presented the main conclusions of the research.Finally, Hong said, China should make full use of its super-size market to improve the flow of domestic circulation.   

 

 

 

Picture 13. Professor Hong Junjie, Vice President of The University of International Business and Economics, Changjiang Scholar and Member of the Subject Appraisal Group of The State Council

 

In the discussion, Professor Ma Hong pointed out that China has greatly influenced the world in the past 20 years since its accession to the WTO, but what is the difference between this impact on developed and developing countries is a topic worth studying. Professor Shi Bingzhan believed that when studying the impact of international cycle on domestic cycle, we need to study the impact of demand-side shock as well as the impact of supply-side shock. Professor Dai Mi raised a question worthy of further consideration, namely, whether to rely more on domestic or international cycles to promote innovation in the upstream industry.

 

 

Picture 14 Professor Ma Hong, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Young Changjiang Scholar

 

 

Figure 15. Professor Wang Xiaosong, Young Changjiang Scholar, School of Economics, Renmin University of China

 

 

Figure 16. Professor Gao Lingyun, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

 

 

Figure 17. Professor Shi Bingzhan, Young Changjiang Scholar, School of Economics, Nankai University

 

 

Figure 18. Associate ProfessorDai Mi, BNUBS

 

This lecture series combines theory with practice and is rich in content. Experts and scholars from different areas of the country's foreign trade policy has discussed and elaborated the major practical problems of international trade and international trade in the field of academic frontier, which has widened the field of vision of research, academic exchanges between research field of international trade talents, and improved teachers' and students' scientific research and academic ability.In the future, BNUBS will continue to devote itself to improving the teaching level of the disciplines of world economy and international trade and strengthening the cultivation of high-end talents.

 

 

 

Provided by Tu Yue

Edited by Wei Hao

Reviewed by Sun Zhijun