What does it mean that more than 1.2 billion masks were imported? “It’s hard to get a mask” will no longer be a problem!

Due to the impact of the new coronavirus pneumonia, many companies have not resumed work and production. It is understood that the first condition for companies to resume work is that each employee must be equipped with a mask . But masks have been in short supply. But good news came recently, with more than 1.2 billion masks imported . So what does it mean that more than 1.2 billion masks were imported? “It’s hard to get a mask” will no longer be a problem!

What does it mean that more than 1.2 billion masks were imported?

Importing more than 1.2 billion masks only means that the international supply of medical products has made up for the shortage of domestic short-term production and supply.

At a routine online press conference held by the Ministry of Commerce on February 20, Li Xinggan, Director of the Department of Foreign Trade, said that according to monitoring statistics, as of today, more than 1.2 billion masks and more than 13 million sets of protective clothing have been imported through various trade methods. Among them, cross-border e-commerce platforms and enterprises in 59 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones have imported a total of more than 50 million masks and nearly 1 million sets of protective clothing. Li Xinggan said that the guarantee of medical supplies is an all-round test for all aspects of import trade. Practice has proved that each link in the import chain responds quickly, operates efficiently, and is generally smooth and effective.

Li Xinggan said that while preventing and controlling the epidemic, the Ministry of Commerce continued to pay close attention to the impact of the epidemic on foreign trade. Based on continuous monitoring of key regions and key industries, if the epidemic lasts for a long time, agricultural products, food, and industries with long industrial chains and intensive labor are expected to be greatly affected. In response to the difficulties reported by enterprises such as obstructed logistics and transportation, the Ministry of Commerce has introduced a number of policy measures to support foreign trade enterprises, reduce costs and increase efficiency, and create conditions for the stable development of foreign trade.

Regarding the resumption of work and production of foreign trade enterprises, Li Xinggan introduced that the overall progress of resumption of work and production of foreign trade enterprises has accelerated. The resumption rate of key foreign trade enterprises in Zhejiang and Shandong is around 70%. Major foreign trade provinces such as Guangdong and Jiangsu are also resuming work rapidly, and the progress is in line with expectations. In general, all localities are currently implementing precise prevention and control, zoning and grading, and steadily and orderly promoting the resumption of work and production of foreign trade enterprises. At present, the tight supply of raw materials and the poor connection between domestic and foreign logistics are being effectively alleviated, and the linkage and matching of various links in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain are recovering rapidly.

Li Xinggan said that while strengthening epidemic prevention and control, the Ministry of Commerce has done a solid job in stabilizing foreign trade, supporting foreign trade enterprises to resume production as soon as possible, protecting markets, ensuring contract performance and securing orders, increasing support for trade financing, giving full play to the role of export credit insurance, actively participating in international coordination and cooperation, and striving to create a good domestic and international environment for foreign trade enterprises.

In addition, regarding the problem of imported frozen meat being stranded in some ports, Li Xinggan said that this was mainly due to the impact of the epidemic, poor logistics connections in some areas, and the resumption of work of cold storage personnel in some ports could not meet the industry's mobility requirements. At present, relevant problems are being alleviated, the customs clearance speed of imported meat has been significantly accelerated, and the number of goods picked up and leaving the port is greater than the number of new arrivals. The meat products that were previously stranded in Hong Kong are being quickly put on the market and no new backlog has been formed. The impact on imports and exports is generally controllable. With the positive progress in epidemic prevention and control and the orderly resumption of work and production, relevant issues will be resolved soon.