As the first China-made large passenger aircraft, C919 with 158 seats is scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2016. [Photo/IC]

One of the biggest players in China’s rapid economic development has been foreign trade. The general administration of Customs released the numbers on foreign trade for the first 11 months of 2015. According to the figures, gross import and export value amounted to 22.08 trillion yuan, a 7.8 percent decline for the same period in 2014. In Nov, the data showed gross exports achieving 1.25 trillion yuan, a 3.7 percent fall from the previous year. Figures show a five consecutive month stretch of declining figures in exports.

In order to solve the problem, the State Council discussed a working plan to set up more cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot areas at an executive meeting on Jan 6. On Jan 7, the State Council issued their opinions on the development of open borders to support a number of policy measures in key areas. It was pointed that China needs to further promote the prosperity to border areas from action, institutional reform, adjust trade structure, promote the characteristics, and advantages industrial development, enhance the level of opening of tourism, strengthening infrastructure construction, combine the “One Belt One Road” strategy.

However, in order to increase the overall account of foreign trade, what we is needed is to dramatically improve the quality of Chinese export goods.

Made in China are three words that have been a mark of shame for Chinese people for many years. When “Made in China” is mentioned, what comes to mind immediately are low quality and low price. In the past 30 years, in the Westerners’ minds, what could really represent Chinese traditional culture was only china and tea. Made in China has become a stigma in the global market. Currently, with the improvement of people’s living standard, low price alone cannot drive sales, undoubtedly, China’s export data will struggle to post positive numbers.

To erase the stigma, China needs to do some changes. First, China needs to improve the core technology and human-oriented designs of high-tech products. China leads the world in the production capacity, however, in recent years, the popularity among Chinese for buying foreign products has created business opportunities for a burgeoning number of overseas purchasing agents, who make purchases on behalf of consumers. Products made in China cannot cater to the taste of Chinese people now. Therefore, China should improve the capacity to explore, research and produce the high-quality export goods.