SHENZHEN will expand advanced manufacturing exports and consistently optimize the import structure to solidify its foreign trade growth, according to the city’s commerce bureau.

The bureau has recently released a policy document laying out 24 measures to improve the scale and structure of foreign trade and ensure its stable, high-quality growth.

Container ships berth at the Yantian Port in Yantian District. Lin Jianping

The city will increase support in export credit insurance for key industrial clusters and “little giant” firms — novel elites of small and medium-sized enterprises that specialize in a niche market, boast cutting-edge technologies, and show great potential — to help businesses expand in overseas markets.

To stabilize and improve processing trade, efforts will be made to establish service mechanisms for processing trade enterprises and companies that serve as the key links in the industrial and supply chains and to provide key support in land use, electricity consumption, labor, industrial policies, and import and export customs clearance.

The city will foster and expand automobile exports, support automakers to strengthen technological innovation, improve the international service and marketing system, expand the export of automobiles and auto parts, and build a global automobile sales and export center.

An aerial view of the Yantian Port. Lin Jianping

Efforts will be made to accelerate the import of energy-related commodities and support the import of metals and related mineral resources.

Shenzhen will also invite global top semiconductor manufacturers and distributors to establish application and R&D centers. It will support internationally renowned consumer goods and luxury goods enterprises, brands, and supply chain service enterprises in setting up regional headquarters, functional headquarters, and independent legal entities in Shenzhen.

To bolster the development of cross-border e-commerce, efforts will be made to encourage enterprises to increase overseas warehouse investment in established markets, such as Europe and the Americas, as well as in emerging markets like Southeast Asia.

The city will enhance international freight capacity, increase Shenzhen Port’s direct routes to major global markets, expand the fleet of ocean-going car carriers, and increase China-Europe freight trains departing from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Shenzhen saw its foreign trade reach a new record of 3.87 trillion yuan (US$544 billion) in 2023, up 5.9% year on year, ranking second among mainland cities, statistics from Shenzhen Customs showed.

The city’s exports jumped 12.5% year on year to 2.46 trillion yuan in 2023, ranking first for 31 consecutive years among mainland cities.