First, the rapid development of international trade in services
The fundamental reason for the rapid development of international trade in services is that it represents the trend of development in the world today. First of all, the trend of economic services. The so-called economic service, from the macro, refers to the service industry to become the national economy's main industrial sector; from the micro, refers to the industrial and agricultural production process in the service input or software input to increase the proportion. From the 70's, the world's high-income countries services accounted for the proportion of its gross domestic product has reached 60%, led by the United States, Europe and the United States developed countries to complete the process of industrialization into the post-industrial era, that is, the era of the service economy, the service sector to replace the industry to become the center of gravity of the industrial structure, a country's level of development of the service sector to become a symbol of the country's level of economic development. Secondly, there is the trend of economic intellectualization, which refers to the advent of the knowledge economy. Knowledge-based economy has a comprehensive character and is a mixed economy of manufacturing and service industries. The inevitable result of the development of knowledge economy is that the knowledge products are shifting from mainly material products to mainly spiritual products, and the proportion of non-material spiritual consumption in people's consumption will also increase. This means that in the era of knowledge economy, the importance of the development of the service industry will be further increased, and it will also gain greater development. The third is the trend of economic globalization. In today's world, the mobility of factors of production such as labor and capital has been further strengthened, promoting the rapid development of international trade, international finance and international investment, and thus promoting the formation of the trend of world economic integration. And the trend of economic integration development, in turn, further drive the development of international trade, in the development trend of economic services, the proportion of the service industry, the proportion of international trade in services trade has become inevitable.
In addition, the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the signing of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) has strengthened the trend of liberalization of trade in services. 1 January 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was formally established to operate, the WTO has established a multilateral trading system, including trade in services, for the normal operation of the General Agreement on Trade in Services to provide the organizational and institutional safeguards, and greatly promote the international service-oriented development. Guarantee, greatly promoting the liberalization of international trade in services. Under the WTO system, any participant in the Agreement on Trade in Services should open up its market to another signatory providing services, and the service market of WTO members must be open to competition. 1997, WTO members finally reached the Agreement on Global Basic Telecommunications, the Agreement on Information Technology, and the Agreement on Trade in Financial Services one after another after arduous negotiations. The conclusion of these agreements in the field of international trade in services will further accelerate the global liberalization of trade in services.
Second, China's trade in services development and opening up the status quo
China's trade in services development status is not optimistic, which is manifested in the following aspects.
First, the overall development level is backward. First of all, the growth rate of trade in services is not commensurate with the growth rate of trade in goods. According to the relevant departments of the statistics show that in 1994, China's trade exports amounted to 121 billion U.S. dollars, ranked 11th in the world, while the same period of service exports was only 9.2 billion U.S. dollars, ranked 22nd. The gap between trade in services and trade in goods is very wide, far from synchronized development. Secondly, the level of development of China's trade in services is not in line with the growth rate of the national economy. According to the 1987 United States dollar constant price calculation, China's GDP accounted for the proportion of the world from 2.3% in 1990 to 3.2% in 1994. In 1994, China's exports of services accounted for only 1% of the world's total trade in services, a huge gap between the two. Again from the foreign trade structure, in 1985, the world's major industrialized countries, trade in services accounted for the proportion of the whole trade, the United Kingdom for 49.7%, the United States for 40.1%, France for 37.9%, the former West Germany for 20.65, 20.6% of Japan, and our country to 1988, this proportion was 12.3%, in 1994 also fell to 9.5%.
Secondly, the structure of trade in services is unreasonable and cannot adapt to the current trend of world development. China's service exports to tourism, labor exports, ocean shipping and other labor-intensive services, the more competitive international trade is also this type of trade, and today's international trade in services is the mainstream of the development of financial services, insurance, consulting, postal and telecommunications, professional services and other technology-intensive, knowledge-intensive and capital-intensive service projects. In such services, China is in a backward state, lack of international competitiveness.
Third, in the service trade market breadth, the international common service projects about 150 kinds, while China has only 40 kinds, there are many service projects in our country is a blank, to be developed.
Since the reform and opening up, China's trade in services market has gradually opened up, and has begun to take shape. From the "General Agreement on Trade in Services" provides for four types of transactions to analyze, the main ways are the following.
1. Cross-border delivery. China has only committed to this mode of delivery in the value-added telecommunications industry open. China's postal and telecommunication enterprises from 1982 began to utilize foreign investment, so far, France Alcatel and Japan Electric Company to meet 53% of China's communications equipment requirements.
2. Overseas consumption. With the increase of domestic citizens and legal persons going abroad for business investigation, negotiation, study and traveling activities in recent years, the number of Chinese consumers going abroad to obtain foreign services is on the rise. And except for special circumstances, our government has no major restrictions on this.
3. Commercial presence. This is the main form of China's trade in services open to the outside world. 1980s, foreign investment in China's service industry (mainly tourist hotels, restaurants, financial leasing, banking, etc.) began. Into the 1990s, many long-term closed "forbidden zone" began to thaw, allowing foreign business in the form of the existence of business into China's service market sector areas continue to expand, including commercial retailing, tourism, finance, insurance, shipping, real estate, import and export inspection, international freight forwarding agents, water and road transport, shipping, health care, Accounting, information consulting, etc. In the field of commercial retailing, the state allows the commercial retail industry to carry out the pilot introduction of foreign capital, allowing foreign investors to invest in China to establish wholly-owned, joint ventures, cooperative production and processing enterprises in accordance with the contract approved by the proportion of sales in the Chinese market on their own or entrusted to the Chinese domestic sales organizations to sell their products. Allowing the opening of two Chinese-foreign joint-venture and cooperative commercial retail enterprises in each of the 11 provinces and cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Dalian, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, Xiamen and Hainan. Allow two Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures and cooperative chain enterprises to be opened in each of Beijing and Shanghai. Foreign companies are allowed to absorb Chinese domestic retail enterprises as franchisees to carry out sales activities through franchising. In the tourism industry, the state allows foreign investment in the construction of tourist areas, tourist resorts in the opening of travel agencies, foreign exchange stores, rental companies. In terms of finance and insurance, foreign banks have been stationed in March 1991 in Shanghai. In the professional services market, three overseas law firms were authorized to set up offices in Shanghai in 1993. In the real estate market, foreign investment in piece of land development, from the coast to the mainland, and began to enter the real estate industry. In the use of foreign capital in the development of oil, in 1993 China following the Yellow Sea, the Bohai Sea, the South China Sea after the opening up of the East China Sea area of oil development, so that the entire coastline fully open. China's service trade market has been liberalized in the field of opening up to the outside world, the formation of a dozen sectors covering finance, insurance, transportation, warehousing, construction, real estate, health, information consulting and other sectors of the pattern of opening up to the outside world.
4. Movement of natural persons. China's foreign labor is not restricted by law, but in fact, since the founding of the country, China only allows foreign experts to work in China. In recent years, with the rapid development of the economy and the opening up to the outside world to increase the strength of foreign labor, a sharp increase in foreign service, foreign service providers in the form of natural persons to enter the market in China is rapidly increasing.
With the liberalization of international trade in services to promote the process of China's other services sector of the opening up is inevitable, which puts forward a higher demand for China's trade in services to open up to the outside world.
Third, China's trade in services market opening up the problem analysis
As a developing country behind the level of services, over the past decade, China's services and trade in services and the pace of development and opening up the process is relatively fast, but also more effective. However, the overall development level of China's trade in services is still lagging behind, with the developed countries and even some developing countries, the gap between the western developed countries and some newly industrialized countries in the development level of services is much higher than our country. The opening of the market, foreign strong service enterprises into China's service market, in bringing advanced technology and management experience at the same time, but also on China's service market will cause no small impact, thus bringing a series of problems and challenges.
1. Further opening of China's service trade market may bring a series of impact
First of all, due to the level of development of China's service industry and the level of development of the international advanced service industry, there is a huge gap between the further opening of China's service trade market is bound to produce a huge impact on the domestic service industry, resulting in a series of unfavorable to the development of China's service industry, specifically manifested in the following: First, the development of infant industry is struggling. First, the development of infant industry is difficult. Many sectors of China's service industry, especially the new service sector, is still in the early stage of development. And these new service sectors are often the strengths of developed countries. After the opening up of the market, foreign services and service providers must enter and occupy the market in these areas, thus making the living space of these infant industries in China smaller and smaller and their development more difficult. Secondly, the competitive environment for enterprises in the traditional service sector may deteriorate, leading to an excessively high elimination rate. The super-national treatment given to foreign-invested enterprises after the liberalization will add to the plight of the state-owned enterprises which are already in a difficult situation of restructuring. Thirdly, the entry of foreign-invested service enterprises may also lead to the loss of the already scarce domestic service talents. Foreign advanced service enterprises to enter the domestic market, is bound to attract a large number of domestic talent to join, to a certain extent, the domestic enterprise talent resources, is not conducive to the long-term development of domestic enterprises.
Secondly, it may adversely affect the structure of China's balance of payments. After further opening up our service trade market, service exports and imports will grow, but due to the backwardness of our service industry, the growth of imports may be higher than the growth of exports, resulting in an increase in our service trade deficit, which in turn affects our balance of payments. Seriously, it may lead to the imbalance of foreign exchange balance, worsening the financial situation in China.
Finally, the further opening up of the service trade market may damage China's economic sovereignty.
2. China lacks a sound and effective trade in services management system to regulate and manage the further opening of the trade in services market, so that it is in order.
At present, China's foreign trade in services management and comprehensive coordination is mainly by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation is responsible for its functions are: to participate in international multilateral negotiations, the centralized management of China's introduction of foreign capital, foreign contracting and labor cooperation, as well as the approval of China's part of the service industry enterprises to invest in foreign countries and so on. This mode of management has once promoted the development of China's service trade, but it is no longer adapted to the requirements of the current development of the service industry, and is even more incapable of assuming the responsibility of planning and managing China's service trade market after further opening up, so as to enable it to move towards the healthy and orderly development of the direction of the important task. The limitations of the existing management system are mainly manifested in the following: the management functions are scattered, resulting in a chaotic situation of multiple government departments doing their own business. The country has not set up a unified macro-management department and coordination department to promote the development of trade in services, resulting in an unsound management system, unclear management responsibilities, and the phenomenon of multiple and cross management occurs from time to time. On the one hand, the management of confusion, both overlapping functions, difficult to implement the powers of the zone, there is no jurisdiction in the middle of the zone, on the other hand, it is easy to form sectoral protectionism, resulting in industry monopoly, is not conducive to the development and growth of the market system, and is not conducive to the enhancement of international competitiveness, and is extremely unfavorable to the development of trade in services.
3. Relevant legislation needs to be strengthened
In recent years, the country has promulgated a number of important laws and regulations in the field of trade in services, such as the Commercial Banks Law, Insurance Law, Maritime Law, Advertising Law, Civil Aviation Law and so on, but the current state of the legislation and the wide range of connotations of the trade in services and the gradual opening up of the needs of the country compared to the far from enough, there are many deficiencies, manifested by Firstly, the number of legislation related to service industry is small, and it has not formed a system, and there are even no basic laws in many fields, which are in the blank state of legislation. Secondly, in the existing legislation, there are deficiencies and problems such as the guiding principles, legislative spirit, contents and techniques are different from or even contrary to the international norms, the contents of the laws and regulations are outdated, and the provisions are not operable, etc., which need to be improved. Thirdly, the level of legislation is low, and there is a serious conflict of laws and regulations. Most of the existing laws and regulations are regulations and normative documents of functional departments, and there are gaps and contradictions between them, which seriously affect the authority and implementation of the law. The backwardness of the service industry legislation, so that the development of the domestic service market lack of legal protection, but also cause the friction of service exports difficult to resolve.
Fourth, the analysis of countermeasures
First of all, we must vigorously develop China's service industry, and strive to shorten the gap between the level of development of the service industry and developed countries in as short a period of time as possible, in the trade in services to take the initiative. The following measures can be taken: 1. attach great importance to the development of the service industry and trade, strengthen the tertiary industry's policy research and formulation, step by step and focus on the development of various sectors of the service industry. 2. for the weak legislation on the service industry in our country, vigorously carry out the work of legislation on the service industry. Enhance the transparency of the management of the service industry, it is best to formulate a general law on the service industry as soon as possible, in order to unify and coordinate the regulations of the various sectors of the service industry.3. Accelerate the construction of a modern enterprise system for the service industry, and encourage the union of service enterprises. Promote the shareholding transformation, reorganization and grouping of service enterprises. Enhance its own competitiveness and self-development capabilities. 4. Accelerate the training of service personnel, optimize the quality of service, cultivate talents and retain talents. 5. Reform of the service industry's macro-management system, change the administrative intervention to the use of fiscal policy, monetary policy and other economic means of regulation, it is recommended that in accordance with international practice and gradually set up civil nature of the industry associations in order to unify the coordination of China's service industry development, change the current service industry in our country is governed by their own way. The current situation of China's service industry is fragmented.
Secondly, the establishment of a sound management system for China's international trade in services, China's international trade in services to implement effective macro-management, unified policy, coordinated external to ensure the smooth development of China's trade in services. 1. Determine the import and export policy of the services sector of the focal point for the management and overall coordination of the department, according to China's "Foreign Trade Law" provides that the State Council authorized the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation to set up an international trade services. To establish the centralized management and comprehensive coordination department of international trade in services, its management scope should be determined as the planning and development strategy for the service industry with many industries and categories, formulate or participate in the formulation of laws and regulations on trade in services, coordinate the relationship with other countries, and implement the relevant provisions of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). 2. Establishing the macro-management and coordination mechanism of China's international trade in services, and streamlining the relationship between the central government and the local government, as well as the relationship between the departments, so that the responsibilities of the management departments at all levels will be clarified. To make the responsibilities of the management departments at all levels clear and the division of labor clear. The administrative departments of the relevant industries in the service industry mainly focus on: statistics and basic data on the volume of domestic trade in services and the market situation of trade in services; the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) has the responsibility to supervise and manage the open market of trade in services in accordance with China's relevant laws, regulations and international agreements, put forward the industry programs of tariff concessions and tariff protections, promote the development of the relevant domestic industries, promote the advantageous industries to go to the international market, and so on. It also promotes the development of relevant domestic industries, and promotes the superior industries to go to the international market, etc.
Third, according to the relevant provisions of GATS, adjust China's trade in services related policies
1. Adjust some of China's original protective policies, for example, according to the requirements of GATS, the financial market should be open to foreign capital in the currency lending and borrowing, the sale and purchase of all kinds of bills and securities, etc. 2. Under the principle of national treatment, China's service market should not have any "discriminatory" treatment towards foreign service and service suppliers. Therefore, China must formulate policies to support and encourage the development of domestic service industries in order to enhance the competitiveness of domestic service enterprises. 3. Utilizing the provisions of "greater participation of developing countries", to formulate policies to encourage the expansion of overseas services.
Fourth, strengthen the legislative work in the field of trade in services
According to the basic principles of GATS, combined with China's service industry, the actual formulation of various sectoral laws and regulations of the service industry, and on this basis to formulate a unified law on trade in services, pay special attention to make full use of the exceptions of GATS, from the legislation of China's service industry to give due protection.
Fifth, the development of China's service industry status quo determines that the opening up of China's service industry can not be achieved in one step, but can only be gradually opened up by level.
First of all, we have to clean up and reorganize the existing open areas, and grasp the overall situation of the country's opening up. On this basis, adhere to our main, hierarchical, gradual opening of China's service trade market, the formation of gradient opening situation, reduce the impact of the opening of trade in services.
Secondly, in the various sectors of the degree of openness of the hierarchical arrangements, according to the development of various sectors and their development characteristics, the level of openness is divided into prohibited open sectors, with restrictions on the opening of the sector and encourage the opening of the sector. Specifically, service industries that threaten national security and social stability (such as publishing and audio-visual services) and are prohibited domestically and are detrimental to the health of the people are prohibited from opening up and are not obliged to do so. For sectors such as finance, insurance, telecommunication and information consulting, etc., which are really needed for the development of China's national economy but have a low degree of domestic marketization and a serious shortage of China's self-sufficiency, the degree and steps of liberalization should be strictly limited and the monitoring and management of liberalization should be strengthened. Again, in terms of regional liberalization level arrangement, liberalization can be carried out in a gradient from the coast to the hinterland. Coastal areas can be opened up a little more vigorously, and the opening up of some service sectors can be piloted in coastal areas first, and then expanded to the interior if successful.
In summary, in the development of international trade in services in a wave over the first-class trend, China's weak foundation of trade in services how to catch up, in the trend of liberalization of trade in services in the feast, is the current development of China's trade in services is also the development of China's foreign trade is bound to face the problem. The author through the current situation of China's trade in services, causes, problems and countermeasures to think about, explore, aiming to show that the opening is inevitable, open is also to pay attention to the strategy, the only open, the only strategy to open up China's trade in services market, China's service industry and trade in services can really rapid and healthy development, for China's economic development to make its due contribution. </TD></TR>