On Jan 11, 1994, the State Council announced the Decision on Further Deepening the Reform of Foreign Trade and put forward the tasks of China's foreign trade system reform: aligned policy, open management, equal competition, self-responsibility for profits/loss, industry and trade integration, implementation of agency system, and establishment of the operating system that fits the international economic rules.

On April 1, 1996, China cut down import tariff substantially for more than 4,000 kinds of commodities and the general tariff level down by 23 percent.