On the 18th, the State Council Information Office held a routine policy briefing for the State Council, introducing the relevant situation of accelerating the integration of domestic and foreign trade development. The Ministry of Commerce and 14 other departments have designated 9 regions including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Jiangsu to carry out pilot projects for integrating domestic and foreign trade, and have achieved initial results in the past year. Recently, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Several Measures to Accelerate the Development of Integrated Domestic and Foreign Trade" (hereinafter referred to as the "Several Measures"), proposing 5 aspects and 18 measures to accelerate the development of integrated domestic and foreign trade. This means that the development of integrated domestic and foreign trade in China is accelerating. Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping stated that in recent years, China's domestic and foreign trade integration has made positive progress, but enterprises still face some obstacles when switching between domestic and foreign markets, and their ability to integrate domestic and foreign trade needs to be improved. Zhou Qiang, Director of the Market Construction Department of the Ministry of Commerce, stated in response to questions from Southern Daily reporters that Guangdong has established a mechanism to promote the development and cooperation of standards in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, expanded the list of "Bay Area standards", and improved the level of integration of systems, rules, and standards among the three regions. Experts suggest that Guangdong actively connects with international high standard economic and trade rules, striving to become the "leader" in the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade in the country. What is the background for China's accelerated promotion of domestic and foreign trade integration? In response, the "Several Measures" mentioned that accelerating the integration of domestic and foreign trade development is an inherent requirement for building a new development pattern and promoting high-quality development. It plays an important role in promoting economic development, expanding domestic demand, and stabilizing enterprises. "From international experience, the development of integrated domestic and foreign trade is a common practice in mature market economy countries," said Lan Qingxin, a researcher at the National Institute of Opening up at the University of International Business and Economics. Dr. Jiang Zhao, Assistant Researcher at the Institute of Circulation and Consumption at the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, stated that accelerating the integration of domestic and foreign trade not only enhances the advantages of the domestic market and stimulates the potential for domestic demand, but also facilitates efficient connectivity between the domestic and international markets, free flow of resources and factors, and promotes the dual circulation of domestic and international markets. In fact, in the past two years, "integration of domestic and foreign trade" has emerged in multiple heavyweight documents. On October 29, 2020, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China passed the "14th Five Year Plan", proposing to improve the integrated regulation system of domestic and foreign trade, promote the integration of domestic and foreign trade laws and regulations, regulatory systems, etc., and promote the same line, same standard, and same quality. In December 2021, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Promoting the Development of Integrated Domestic and Foreign Trade", proposing that by 2025, the level of integrated domestic and foreign trade development among market entities will be further improved, the regulatory system for integrated domestic and foreign trade will be more sound, and efficient operation and integrated development of domestic and foreign trade will be achieved. What is the level of integrated development of domestic and foreign trade in China under policy intensification? Sheng Qiuping introduced that in recent years, China's domestic and foreign trade integration has made positive progress, and the scale and quality of domestic and foreign trade have further improved. From January to November 2023, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 42.8 trillion yuan, with a total import and export value of 38 trillion yuan, firmly ranking as the world's second largest consumer market and the world's largest trading country in goods. The data also shows that the willingness of enterprises to integrate domestic and foreign trade development has further strengthened