China promotes high-quality trade development, int'l standards cooperation: official

China is promoting the high-quality development of trade in services through high-standard opening up, while also striving to advance international standards cooperation and the internationalization of Chinese standards, an official with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) said in Beijing on Saturday.

During an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), Yao Xin, Secretary-General of the CCPIT Commercial Sub-council, elaborated on the strategies that China is implementing to adapt to the evolving global trade landscape.

"To adapt to the changes in the global trade environment, China will further innovate and upgrade the trade in services, promote the high-quality development of trade and services by openness. So now you see, China has opened up more service sectors to improve the system of opening up of the service trade and take the initiative to dock with international high-standard economic and trade rules and further enhance the standardization of service trade," Yao said.

International standardization plays a pivotal role in global services trade. As a result, China has undertaken measures to advance the internationalization of Chinese standards, according to the official.

For example, last year, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) formally set up a secretariat for a management-related committee in China. This marked the first instance of such an establishment in China in the 76-year history of the ISO.

"First, now we emphasize collaboration with the International Organization for Standardization. So, for example, we take the responsibility of the secretariat of the committee and management consultancy under the ISO, and we also draft some new standards [on issues], including the sharing economy, digital marketing, live streaming marketing, and e-commerce. And the second is now we are to innovate some new paths. Because in China, we have the association standard, so we use a new path that is from a social standard to the international standard. And the third now, we established some mechanism. So, for example, we organize the different standardization forum," Yao explained.

Nevertheless, there are challenges in the endeavor to promote the internationalization of Chinese standards, as noted by the official. This is because standards are the result of consensus-building, making it occasionally challenging to reach a consensus.

"So, I think now China needs to continue to strengthen its own capacity building and expand its international network. We should have more and more friends and actively promote the trade agreement and understand cooperation. So, China can contribute much more in the international standardization," Yao added.

Themed "Global Services, Shared Prosperity," the 2024 CIFTIS is taking place at the China National Convention Center and the Shougang Park in Beijing from Sept 12 to 16.

China promotes high-quality trade development, int'l standards cooperation: official

China promotes high-quality trade development, int'l standards cooperation: official

China promotes high-quality trade development, int'l standards cooperation: official

China has seen a tourism boom in the first five days of the week-long National Day holiday, as people seize the opportunity to embrace natural and cultural attractions nationwide.

From Oct 1 to 5, Beijing received 20.5392 million tourists, including 10.8615 million tourists from other Chinese cities and 46,800 inbound tourists. Key scenic spots of the Chinese capital, including the Wangfujing Street, the Temple of Heaven Park, the Summer Palace, Nanluoguxiang, and Badaling Great Wall, were crowded with people during the holiday.

In east China's Jiangxi Province, many tourists choose to climb mountains, or walk into the countryside to feel the charm of nature. In the first five days of the National Day holiday, Sanqingshan Scenic Area, a world natural heritage site in the province's Shangrao City, received more than 600,000 tourists, an increase of 25.6 percent over last year.

"The scenery, stones and mountains are just like traditional Chinese ink paintings, with a particularly beautiful artistic conception," said Liu Hao, a tourist.

While waiting to enter the park at the foot of the mountain, tourists watched the She people's performances with rich ethnic minority style, and the children enthusiastically participated in colorful games.

"Although there are a lot of people, everyone line up in an orderly manner and there are places to sit," said Zou Wenhao, another tourist.

As of Sunday, the total number of visitors to the Mount Taishan, a UNESCO world heritage site in east China's Shandong Province, has exceeded 7 million this year. From Oct. 2 to 5, the number of tourists at the scenic spot exceeded 73,000 per day for four consecutive days, and the number reached a peak of 82,000 on Oct. 3.

Tourists can not only enjoy the beautiful scenery of Mount Taishan, but also taste various delicious food such as Taishan fried chicken and sweet and sour Yellow River carp in the nearby food street.

Chinese cities enjoy tourism boom during National Day holiday