1.1 Three Ways to Get Going开启出口的三种方式
In China,to export,you need to obtain the right for import and export before you can do so in your firm’s own name.It is so required by the Foreign Trade Law and other governing laws and regulations of China For most categories of goods,getting this right is not complicated today which is supervised by the Department of Foreign Trade,Ministry ofCommerce.Whether you are a manufacturer or a merchant,just register with the department of your provincial government that deals with international trade by filling out a critical document called the Form for Registration as a Foreign Trade Dealer(see Figure 1-1),and completing other related procedures.
Figure 1-1 The Form for Registration as a Foreign Trade Dealer
Right here,you may ask,“What if I don’t have this qualification?”or“When I just have occasional orders from foreign buyers,can I export?”For Sure! You can export through “someone else”—another company with such a qualification.This company,likewise,could be a manufacturer or a merchant(a trading company),which effectively assumes the role of anagency for you.In either case,all formalities are completed by this company and export is done in its name.
The third option is more geared to small exporters,such as those self-employed individuals.As an individual,you can set up your SOHO(small office and home office)mode for export by tapping your existing social networks or cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba,AliExpress or Amazon.You may earn big but less frequent orders as an individual,but to run a successful cross-border e-business,you probably need a team instead of working alone.
In this textbook,let’s suppose you have just started to work for a trading company called Tianjin Binhai Import and Export Co.,Ltd.—one that has obtained the right for import and export,so that you can import or export in the name of your company.You may both import and export,but let’s first navigate the export process from Chapter 1 through Chapter 13 from an exporter’s perspective.When that is done,hopefully,you may have gained a good understanding of export.After that,the import process will be no problem,either,which shall be discussed briefly in Chapter 14,from an importer’s perspective.And in Chapter 15,the last chapter,you’ll get acquainted with the basics about cross-border e-commerce from both an importer’s and an exporter’s perspective.