Shou Xiaoli:

Thank you, Mr. Pu, for the introduction. Now the floor is open to questions. Please identify your media outlet before raising questions.

21st Century Business Herald:

In the past decade, China's foreign trade has grown rapidly, and the country has become the largest trader in goods with such status gradually stabilized. However, due to the pandemic, the global economic recovery is slow, and foreign trade is faced with grim challenges. What will China do next to promote the high-quality development of foreign trade? Thank you.

Sheng Qiuping:  

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, historic achievements have been made in high-quality trade development, making important contributions to our national economic growth and global economic recovery.  

First, China's status as a major trading nation has been consistently strengthened. China became the largest trader in goods in 2013, and its trade in goods and services increased to the world's largest in 2020. Last year, China's total value of imported and exported goods grew by 30% year-on-year in U.S. dollar terms, surpassing the two levels of 5 trillion yuan and 6 trillion yuan to hit a record high. The international market share of China's exports reached 15.1%.  

Second, the trade mix has continued to improve. The proportion of imports and exports of the central and western regions has increased significantly, and private companies are playing a more prominent role in driving growth. High-tech and high-value-added products such as automobiles and ships have gradually become new driving forces of growth. Auto exports increased by 150% compared with 2012.

Third, remarkable progress has been made in the innovative development of trade. New forms and models of trade have sprung up. The number of integrated pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce  has reached 132, and companies in the zones have set up more than 2,000 overseas warehouses. The number of pilot programs for market procurement trade methods  has increased to 31.

Fourth, the markets of trade have become more diversified. China has actively expanded its trading partners in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and other emerging markets, progressively improving its market distribution. It has signed 19 free trade agreements with 26 countries and regions, and its trade volume with them now accounts for 35% of the country's total.

Fifth, trade has massively contributed to national economic development and world economic recovery. Foreign trade is one of the three driving forces for economic growth and a sector that has created 180 million jobs. Last year, imports and exports of goods and services drove GDP growth by 1.7 percentage points with a contribution rate of 20.9%. Meanwhile, China's imports contributed 13.4% to global import growth, a strong boost to the recovery of the world economy.

As foreign trade now faces challenging and complex circumstances both in and outside of China, we will act on the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, further implement various policies on stabilizing foreign trade, and spare no effort to stabilize the overall performance of foreign trade and foreign investment and promote high-quality development of foreign trade to contribute to the building of a new development paradigm.

First, we will improve the quality and efficiency of foreign trade. We will continue to promote the quality of imports and exports, vigorously develop trade in high-tech, high-quality, and high-value-added products, and make labor-intensive products more high-end and refined. We will support the export of brand-name products, increase the import of energy and resource products and high-quality agricultural products, and foster demonstration zones for the creative promotion of import trade.

Second, we will support the innovative development of foreign trade. We will actively support the development of new forms and models of business, such as cross-border e-commerce, overseas warehouses, market procurement trade methods, and comprehensive foreign trade services . We will vigorously develop digital trade, enhance trade digitalization, and empower the whole trade system with digital technologies at a faster speed. We will establish the standard and certification system for green and low-carbon trade, foster green and low-carbon trade entities, and accelerate the development of green trade.

Third, we will promote the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade. We will improve the regulation system fit for both domestic and foreign trade, promote the coordination of laws, regulations, supervision systems, and quality standards, foster platforms for both domestic and foreign trade, ensure that products sold domestically are produced on the same production lines, meet the same standards, and are of the same quality as exported products, and encourage foreign trade companies to expand the domestic market through multiple channels.

Fourth, we will do our best to ensure stable foreign trade industrial and supply chains. As COVID-19 continues to impact global supply chains, we will step up efforts to mitigate disruptions in global industrial and supply chains, improve the business environment, and facilitate trade.

Fifth, we will further strengthen international cooperation. We will ensure the success of major trade fairs such as the CIIE, the China Import and Export Fair, and the China International Fair for Trade in Services, firmly uphold the multilateral trading system, actively participate in the reform of the WTO, make good use of the RCEP free trade agreement, actively promote China's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), and get deeply involved in the international cooperation on green and low-carbon development and digital economy. Thank you.

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