Comprehensive Pilot Work of Trade Circulation System Reform

Since 2016, MOFCOM, together with related departments, strengthened macro-direction, planning and coordination, supervision and examination, and promoted the active exploration and pilot work of 9 pilot cities including Shanghai. MOFCOM mainly gained four aspects:

1.Innovating circulation development mechanism and promoting to reduce cost and improve efficiency. Efforts were made to improve public service system and policy promotion system, greatly improve the level of circulation modernization in pilot cities, reduce logistics cost, accelerate real business transformation and the development of new business mode has taken the lead across the country. For example, the vehicles turnover efficiency of pilot enterprises increased more than 20%, and the logistics cost decreased about 30%; sales in some traditional business circles in pilot cities increased against the trend, with a growth above the average.

   2.Accelerating legislation and market supervision and creating legalized business environment. The first comprehensive circulation regulation for local governments was issued and basic regulations on commodity circulation were established through legislation for the first time; we also made special legislation to regulate the management of commercial sites and adjusted the layout of commercial sites according to the law. These practices have accumulated precious experience for national legislation. Meanwhile, efficient models in circulation law enforcement and credit system construction also came into being.

   3.Increasing circulation infrastructure supply and facilitating the residents’ consumption. Pilot cities have made great efforts to make up shortcomings, innovate market construction models for public farm produce, establish mechanism to guarantee community business facility construction, build vegetable markets and fresh food supermarkets for new resident districts and old communities through various ways and solve the problems of lacking public commercial sites in community and high rent for convenient commercial sites. The settled prices of vegetable in public vegetable markets are below the average price in the market.

    4.Accelerating the reform on “power delegation”, improving the environment for starting business and innovation. Pilot cities have established domestic trade circulation administration power list and responsibility list, which fully pushes ahead the simplification of administrative procedures and presses to delegate power and solve problems belonging to “ambiguous border” between government and market, problems of undefined governmental and social responsibility and problems of the overlapping functions of governmental departments.

    The pilots have realized expected achievements overall. At present, we are working with relevant departments to assess local pilots’ achievements and aim to summarize repeatable experience and models that may be popularized and available for other regions to learn from, further deepen domestic trade circulation system reform and build legalized business environment.