In order to set up China’s statistical system of trade in services in conformity with international rules and conventions, carry out the statistical work on services in trade in a scientific and effective way, as well as provide data information service for the State decision-making in this regard, MOFCOM and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) jointly established China’s Statistical System on the International Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as “the Statistical System”), which was jointly promulgated in November 2007 and shall be put in force as from Jan. 1, 2008.
Recently, Hu Jingyan, Director-General of the Department of Trade in Services, answered questions raised by reporters on the Statistical system.
Reporter: The promulgation of the Statistical system fills the blank of statistical system of China’s trade in services and shall play an important role in the development in our statistical work in trade in services. Would you please brief us on the background of its formulation?
Hu: Statistics of trade in services is the important fundamental work for the formulation of state policies on and a scientific development of trade in services. and the establishment of the Statistical System is prerequisite to successfully conducting the statistical work on trade in services.
By combining the experiences drawn from the countries and regions with successful statistics of trade in services, MOFCOM and NBS, after repeated researches and demonstrations, jointly established the Statistical system, which shall enable China’s statistical work to be conducted in a scientific and effective way.
R: What is the legal basis for the establishment of the Statistical system?
Hu: It is based on Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China and Statistics Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as their detailed rules for implementation.
R: How does it link up with the international standards?
Hu: The Statistical System has identified the scope and contents of China’s statistics of trade in services in accordance with the international criteria and standards as well as the actual situation of the country. It has adopted the basic framework of the statistics of trade in services suggested in Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services (“the Manual”), jointly compiled six international organizations, including UN.
On the basis of the basic principles suggested by the Manual, the international statistics of trade in services abides by the definition made in General Agreement on Trade in Services, which identifies four supply patterns, or the scope of the statistics of trade in services, i.e. cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence, and movement of natural persons. At present, over 150 countries and regions report to international organizations the statistical data on a regular basis. 26 countries and regions, including China, are carrying out the statistical work of foreign affiliates trade in services (FATS). China’s statistics of trade in services accords with the trend of that of the world.
R: What is the application scope of the Statistical system?
Hu: The Statistical System stipulates that the scope of China’s statistics of trade in services includes two parts, i.e. the trade in services between Chinese residents and non-Chinese residents, and FATS. Such a scope covers four supply patterns suggested in General Agreement on Trade in Services, i.e. cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence, and movement of natural persons. Meanwhile, In order to combine with China’s actual situation, our statistics offers a detailed classification of trade in services by countries (regions), provinces and cities, which in turn meet the demands of international negotiation and the decision-making of the Chinese governments at various levels.
R: Chinese resident, non-Chinese resident and trade in services of foreign sub-institutions are shown up in the Statistical system, would you please make a briefing on the concept of them?
Hu: According to the System, a Chinese resident refers to the economic unit with its center of economic interests in the Mainland of China, whereas a non-Chinese resident refers to the non-Chinese economic unit that does not belong to a Chinese resident. FATS refers to the service sales realized by the control of an enterprise of another country or region by an enterprise within the territory of China through direct investment, or outbound affiliates trade in services; as well as the service sales realized by the control an enterprise within the territory of China by an enterprise of a foreign country or region through direct investment, or inbound affiliates trade in services.
R: What are the source, reporting and releasing pattern of the statistics?
Hu: The Statistical System stipulates that China’s of the statistical data are derived from two channels: the data provided for MOFCOM by the competent departments related to trade in services; part of the data submitted by the provincial (municipal or district) commercial departments via the verification of MOFCOM, which is responsible for gathering the country’s overall statistical data of trade in services.
R: Which centralized management authority does China’s trade in services belong to?
Hu: The Statistical System regulates that MOFCOM is responsible for the organization and implementation of China’s statistical work of trade in services, as well as gathering, administrating and releasing such survey data in total.
Source: English Site of Department of Information Technology
