SOEs Open up New Prospects in Going Global
　　At present， there are more than 11，000 Chinese state-owned enterprises （SOEs） operating overseas， with assets totaling RMB 7.98 trillion （US $1.14 trillion） and business revenue amounting to RMB 5.7 trillion（US $817.5 billion）. In these Chinese SOEs， foreign employees account for more than 85 percent of the total workforce.
　　Chinese companies started their overseas adventure decades ago. Over the ages， their focuses have shifted from infrastructure construction to auto making， technological innovation， and service industry. During the course， Chinese enterprises also helped to train local employees.
　　The development of SOEs abroad and the improvement of their image are conducive to China’s national image and have created a more favorable environment for more Chinese businesses to go global.
　　At the Chinese Enterprise Global Image Summit 2019 held recently， the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission pledged to take more measures to promote the image building of SOEs abroad in a bid to build them into worldclass enterprises.
　　Chinese SOEs Lead Private and Foreign Enterprises in Brand Influence
　　According to the recently issued Research Report on Chinese Brand Influence 2019 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， the brand influence of Chinese SOEs is bigger than that of private and foreign enterprises.
　　The report takes China’s top 300 enterprises – top 100 SOEs， top 100 private enterprises， and top 100 foreign enterprises – in 10 key industries as research samples. In the report， a brand’s influence was evaluated from both its popularity and its reputation， and adjusted by subtracting the score of “negative public opinion.”
　　The report showed that SOEs logged the highest score in brand influence index with 31.67， which was 33 percent higher than the average.
　　China’s three leading communication operators， China Mobile， China Telecom， and China Unicom， made it on the top of the most influential brand chart.
　　According to the report， 84 percent of China’s top 100 SOEs are based in Beijing， Guangdong， or Shanghai. In addition， provinciallevel regions of Hong Kong， Zhejiang， Inner Mongolia， Jiangsu， Heilongjiang， Jilin， Hubei， Guizhou， Sichuan， and Shandong also have one to five brands on the chart.
　　China to Set up Demonstration Zones to Boost Imports 　　According to the Ministry of Commerce （MOC）， in order to promote the quality development of China’s trade and commerce in the future， it will nurture a few demonstration zones to promote import， facilitate trade， and make better use of the annual China International Import Expo.
　　From January 1， 2020， import tariffs on some goods were adjusted by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council. The tariff cut is a concrete measure taken to further open up China’s market.
　　The demonstration zones to be established are the key to promoting imports. The MOC will encourage innovation of the supervision system， services， and transaction modes. It is hoped that through these new trading hubs， an innovative import trade platform will come into being.
　　In addition， the MOC will do more to facilitate trade between China and other countries. It will promote the full implementation of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Facilitation by February 22， 2020.
　　Made-in-China Products Shipped to More Than 200 Countries and Regions
　　Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Limited， Alibaba’s logistics data platform operator， recently released its annual report on global shipping. It shows that over the past year， goods made in China have been delivered to more than 200 countries and regions， and products from nearly 80 countries and regions have arrived in China.
　　Russia， Malaysia， France， Spain， Singapore， the Netherlands， Poland， Israel， the United States， and Australia are the top 10 countries favoring goods manufactured in China. Cainiao shipped quantitative smart bands to Russia， a large number of height increasing running shoes to Malaysia， and batches of anti-bark collars for dogs to France. In addition， Bluetooth headsets， false eyelashes， and foil birthday balloons are also popular Chinese products among overseas consumers.
　　Apart from quality products with low prices made in China， Cainiao has also shipped expensive smart balance gadgets， creative jewelry， and luxury car accessories from China to Israel， Russia， and France. Besides this， made-in-China products are also bought on Alibaba’s online platform in some distant islands.