In 2020, China’s bilateral trade with Hungary reached 11.69 billion US dollars, an increase of 14.4% year-on-year, a record high. For the first time, China became Hungary’s largest source of foreign investment. In the face of the severe impact of the epidemic on the world economy and the continued downturn in the international market, this report card is of concern. Among them, the “two-zone linkage” mechanism explored by China and Hungary cooperation is indispensable.
Turn the inland into an open frontier
On the afternoon of January 28, a China-EU train full of furniture, auto parts and daily necessities departed from Ganzhou International Dry Port, Jiangxi Province, to Hungary and other countries. Hu Daofeng, the head of Jiangxi Dashi World Home Furnishing Co., Ltd., who has shipped through the China-EU train five times this year, said: “Before, there was no cross-border e-commerce customs clearance channel in Ganzhou, so we had to go to Shenzhen to declare export. Now, Ganzhou International Dry Port on the doorstep can realize customs clearance, and China-EU trains can directly transport goods to overseas warehouses in foreign parks.
At the beginning of the new year, local cross-border e-commerce enterprises ushered in another piece of good news: China (Ganzhou) cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone will sign a “double-zone linkage” cooperation agreement with Hungary’s China-EU Business and Trade Logistics Cooperation Park (hereinafter referred to as China-EU Logistics Park), and the total of 10 China-EU trains from Ganzhou to Budapest will be realized in the next three years. The target of 08,000 tender boxes for import and export containers is 00 columns. Ganzhou, which is inland, has opened up the Central and Eastern European market for its characteristic products.
“Ganzhou is an important wood and furniture production center, and has always been facing the dilemma of ‘difficult wood to get in and furniture to get out’.” Luo Yongfeng, director of Ganzhou International Dry Port Management Committee, said that under the “two-zone linkage” mechanism, China-EU cross-border e-commerce trains will be operated between Ganzhou and Budapest, cross-border e-commerce digital ports and digital parks will be built, and international furniture industry bases will be jointly built to turn the inland into the forefront of opening up.
Located in Hungary, the China-EU Logistics Park integrates national overseas economic and trade cooperation zone, national cross-border e-commerce overseas warehouse pilot unit, national international marketing service public platform and China-EU train operators. It can provide one-stop and full chain such as cross-border e-commerce, international logistics warehousing, international customs certification, international marketing, etc. Customized supporting services to help Chinese enterprises quickly open up the Central and Eastern European markets.
In September 2020, China-EU Logistics Park and China (Linyi) Cross-border Electronic Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone (hereinafter referred to as Linyi Comprehensive Test Zone) took the lead in implementing “double-zone linkage” cooperation. By the end of 2020, the “double-zone linkage” mechanism had increased the import and export volume of foreign trade for Shandong pilot enterprises by 4.32 million euros. According to the agreement, in 2021, the “double-district linkage” mechanism will help Ganzhou achieve a foreign trade import and export increase of 5 billion yuan, achieving a large year-on-year increase.
Increase the added value of international trade
At the 2020 China Brand Commodity (Central and Eastern Europe) Cloud Promotion Exhibition, willow furniture and handicrafts from Linyi, Shandong Province aroused the strong interest of exhibitors in Central and Eastern Europe. Furniture made of processed wicker not only meets the growing demand for green homes in Europe, but also has strong Chinese characteristics, and soon became a popular exhibit at the exhibition.
In order to promote the brand “Linyu Liu Weaving”, the China-Europe Logistics Park connects the brand to Hungary’s largest e-commerce platform for sale, and at the same time creates a full range of Liu Weaving exhibition and sales area in the offline experience center of the park. With the help of the “Qilu” Eurasian train return train between Budapest and Jinan, flexible and convenient box consolidation service is selected to reduce logistics costs. At the same time, the China-Europe Logistics Park organizes local European designers, handicrafts and Chinese production enterprises to jointly develop characteristic products suitable for the cultural customs of Central and Eastern Europe, opening up new channels for domestic products to export to Central and Eastern Europe.
Affected by the epidemic, overseas orders of Shandong Huasheng Agricultural Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. were once low, and it was not until the third quarter of 2020 that they changed from negative to positive. As the first batch of pilot enterprises, the company participated in the “two-zone linkage” mechanism. Through the cross-border e-commerce export overseas warehouse model, the company entrusts the park to store goods, and then responds to local sales orders as soon as possible, which greatly shortens the logistics time for goods to reach foreign customers, improves the service quality, and customer feedback is satisfactory. Liu Jianqun, the company’s financial director, said that in addition to the advantages of logistics and customs clearance, the park also provides a European-oriented display platform for enterprises, helps goods to touch the Internet locally, and uses the eMAG website of the e-commerce platform giant in Central and Eastern Europe and offline channels of the park to conduct trial order sales, and obtain more orders.
“The core of the ‘double-zone linkage’ mechanism is the supporting services. This is also an important way and means for international trade to increase value added. Under the “double-district linkage” mechanism, domestic and foreign trade parks rely on each other and interact benignly, open up all links of the whole chain of foreign trade import and export, realize the integration of resources across regions and cross-pilot platforms at home and abroad, complement each other’s functional advantages, promote “double drive” with “double zones” and achieve the effect of “1+1>2”. Liu Bo, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Hungary, said.
According to Demeni, a Hungarian businessman who has been engaged in China-EU trade for years, the biggest feature of the “two-zone linkage” mechanism is convenience.” In the past year, the number of China-EU trains and overseas warehouses has increased greatly, and after-sales service has become more convenient, and the maintenance and accessories supply of some mechanical products have also been more convenient.
According to statistics, the “two-zone linkage” mechanism can save more than 50% of freight time, about 33% of logistics costs and more than 10% of storage costs for foreign trade enterprises. Under this mechanism, the first seven enterprises in Linyi Comprehensive Test Zone achieved a year-on-year increase in exports to Europe by more than 20%. In addition, the China-Europe Logistics Park has also integrated 53 types of product lines of 45 characteristic product enterprises in 7 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, and is about to launch agency sales cooperation with enterprises in various comprehensive test areas to promote high-quality products from Central and Eastern Europe to enter the Chinese market.
Promote cross-border e-commerce development
The key to the “double-zone linkage” mechanism is logistics. Creating a multi-form and multi-level logistics system and overseas warehouse is an important factor for the success of “double-zone linkage”.
On January 26, the signing ceremony of the Sino-Hungarian Air Cargo Terminal Co-construction Project on the Air Silk Road was held at Zhengzhou Airport. Henan Air Freight Development Co., Ltd. and Hungary China-Europe Business and Logistics Cooperation Park signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The two sides will jointly build an overseas cargo station with Budapest Airport to realize the “domesal goods and national transportation”.
According to the agreement, Zhengzhou Airport will carry out comprehensive strategic cooperation with the China-EU Logistics Park to establish an overseas cargo terminal in Budapest and promote the landing of regular flights from Zhengzhou to Budapest. Zhengzhou Airport is used as the distribution hub in China and Budapest as the distribution hub in Europe. Zhengzhou and Budapest are connected through the opening of regular flights as their windows to achieve connectivity, integrate various links, provide customers with one-stop services, and realize the distribution of cross-border trade goods between China and Europe.
In the face of the challenge of the epidemic, cross-border e-commerce has released great development potential. The trade model of “cross-border e-commerce + China-EU train + overseas warehouse” is becoming a new channel for Chinese goods to go to sea and a new engine for foreign trade growth.
During the epidemic prevention and control period, Zhengzhou Airport took the lead in opening the first regular freight route Zhengzhou-Budapest direct to Hungary, transporting more than 600 tons of epidemic prevention materials to Hungary. The cooperation between Zhengzhou Airport and the China-Europe Logistics Park will build a new “air silk road” between China and Hungary, and realize the rapid distribution of goods in Central and Eastern Europe and even Europe.
In 2021, China and Hungary further improved the efficiency of China-EU trains and the “Air Silk Road”, promoted the opening of new China-EU trains such as Ganzhou-Budapest and Linyi-Budapest, so as to provide more complete supporting services for “two-zone linkage”.
Mossauzi Laszló, State Secretary of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology of Hungary, is very optimistic about the “two-zone linkage” mechanism, believing that Hungary and China will promote comprehensive cooperation in the field of cross-border e-commerce by strengthening railway facilities and deepening practical cooperation within the framework of the “Belt and Road Initiative” and promoting comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and promoting Enter closer cooperation between the two countries in commerce, logistics, science and technology and other fields.
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