The Ministry of Commerce held a press conference to introduce the development of China’s foreign trade.

【peakDear journalists and friends, good morning. Welcome to the regular press conference of the Ministry of Commerce. Today, I first have four pieces of information that I need to take the initiative to inform you.

I. Development of China’s foreign trade from January to May this year.

Since the beginning of this year, China’s foreign trade development has continued to maintain a steady and positive trend, and its quality and efficiency have been further improved.

It mainly has the following characteristics: from the international market, China’s import and export to traditional markets such as the United States, the European Union, Japan and Hong Kong increased by 5.3%, 7.3%, 4.5% and 6.8% respectively. Imports and exports to countries along the "Belt and Road" increased by 11.1%, which was 2.3 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate; Imports and exports to ASEAN increased by 11.9%, which was 3.1 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate. The country markets with rapid growth are Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc., with growth rates of 18%, 16.5% and 24.4% respectively.

From the perspective of commodity structure, the structure of export products has been continuously optimized. The export of mechanical and electrical products was 3.61 trillion yuan, up 7.9%, 2.4 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate, and the proportion increased by 1.3 percentage points to 58.8%. Some imported commodities achieved rapid growth, and the total import value of 10 categories of bulk commodities such as natural gas, crude oil and coal increased by 10.9%.

From the perspective of business entities, foreign-funded enterprises are still an important force in China’s foreign trade development, with the proportion of private enterprises growing steadily and the import and export of state-owned enterprises developing healthily. The import and export of private enterprises was 4.52 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.7%, accounting for 1 percentage point higher than that of the previous year to 38.9%, and it continued to maintain its position as the largest export business entity; The import and export of state-owned enterprises was 2.11 trillion yuan, up by 13.8%, accounting for 18.1% of China’s total foreign trade. The import and export of foreign-funded enterprises was 4.95 trillion yuan, up 4.3%, accounting for 42.6%.

In terms of trade patterns, the proportion of general trade continued to increase, processing trade increased slightly, and border trade developed rapidly. In the first five months of this year, the import and export of general trade was 6.84 trillion yuan, up by 12.7%, and the proportion increased by 2 percentage points to 58.8%. The import and export of processing trade was 3.09 trillion yuan, up by 1.7%, accounting for 26.5%. Small-scale border trade developed rapidly, with the import and export reaching 104.29 billion yuan, an increase of 15.2%.

From the perspective of domestic regions, the eastern region continues to grow steadily, and the proportion of the central and western regions continues to increase. In the first five months of this year, the import and export of the central and western regions reached 1.81 trillion yuan, an increase of 16.7%, and the proportion increased by 1.1 percentage points to 15.6%. The import and export of the eastern region was 9.82 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.4%, accounting for 84.4%.

Two, about China’s foreign investment cooperation in the first five months.

From January to May 2018, domestic investors in China made non-financial direct investments in 2,987 overseas enterprises in 149 countries and regions around the world, with a cumulative investment of 47.89 billion US dollars, up 38.5% year-on-year, and maintained growth for seven consecutive months. The turnover of foreign contracted projects was US$ 56.88 billion, up 12.9% year-on-year; The amount of newly signed contracts was US$ 85.49 billion, up 13.4% year-on-year. Foreign labor cooperation sent 178,000 laborers of various types, and at the end of May, there were 998,000 laborers abroad, an increase of 69,000 over the same period last year.

In the first five months of this year, China’s foreign investment cooperation maintained a steady and healthy development, mainly with the following characteristics:

First, investment cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road has been steadily advanced. From January to May, Chinese enterprises made new investments in 54 countries along the Belt and Road, totaling 5.93 billion US dollars, up 8.2% year-on-year. The newly signed foreign contracted projects in countries along the "Belt and Road" amounted to 36.22 billion US dollars, accounting for 42.4% of the total in the same period; The completed turnover was USD 30.74 billion, accounting for 54% of the total amount in the same period.

Second, the industrial structure of foreign investment has been continuously optimized, and irrational investment has been effectively curbed. From January to May, foreign investment mainly flowed to leasing and business services, manufacturing, mining, wholesale and retail, accounting for 29.9%, 15%, 12.3% and 7.6% respectively. There are no new projects for foreign investment in real estate, sports and entertainment.

Third, the eastern region is still the main force of foreign investment, and enterprises in the three northeastern provinces are increasingly active. From January to May, the total foreign investment of 10 provinces and cities in the eastern region was US$ 27.72 billion, up 75.4% year-on-year, accounting for 78.1% of local foreign investment. The foreign investment of the three northeastern provinces was US$ 1.43 billion, an increase of 88.2% over the same period of last year.

Fourth, there are many newly signed large-scale projects for foreign contracted projects, which plays an obvious role in promoting exports. From January to May, there were 274 projects with newly signed contracts worth more than 50 million US dollars, totaling 73.08 billion US dollars, accounting for 85.5% of the total newly signed contracts. Foreign contracted projects drove the export of goods to 7.54 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 25.7%.

In the first five months of this year, 3,373 foreign-invested enterprises were put on record or approved by the relevant authorities, with an agreed investment of US$ 45.503 billion from China. Among them, 3,356 non-financial foreign investment enterprises have been registered or approved, and the Chinese agreed investment is 42.015 billion US dollars; 17 financial foreign investment enterprises have been put on record or approved, with an agreed investment of US$ 3.489 billion.

Iii. About the situation of absorbing foreign capital in the first five months of this year.

From January to May 2018, the national absorption of foreign capital mainly has the following characteristics:

First, newly-established enterprises continued to grow rapidly, and the actual use of foreign capital rose slightly. From January to May, 24,026 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established nationwide, with a year-on-year increase of 97.6%. The actually utilized foreign capital was 345.59 billion yuan, up 1.3% year-on-year (equivalent to 52.66 billion US dollars, up 3.6% year-on-year).

In May, 5,024 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established nationwide, up by 106.5% year-on-year; The actual use of foreign capital was 58.81 billion yuan, up 7.6% year-on-year, equivalent to 9.06 billion dollars, up 11.7% year-on-year.

Second, the high-tech manufacturing industry maintained a rapid growth momentum. The actual utilization of foreign capital in manufacturing industry was 100.42 billion yuan, up 12.3% year-on-year, accounting for 29.1%. The actual use of foreign capital in high-tech industries increased by 9.8% year-on-year, accounting for 20.5%. The actual use of foreign capital in high-tech manufacturing industry was 33.69 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 61.9%. Among them, pharmaceutical manufacturing, electronic and communication equipment manufacturing, medical equipment and instrumentation manufacturing increased by 12.3%, 56.4% and 442.3% respectively. The actual utilization of foreign capital in high-tech service industry was 37.24 billion yuan, of which the transformation service of scientific and technological achievements increased by 4.1% year-on-year.

Third, the absorption of foreign capital in the central and western regions continued to grow, and the growth rate of foreign capital in the Pilot Free Trade Zone was ahead of the whole country. The actual utilization of foreign capital in the central region was 24.19 billion yuan, up 40.1% year-on-year, and that in the western region was 22.77 billion yuan, up 11.9% year-on-year. There are 3,358 foreign-invested enterprises newly established in 11 pilot free trade zones, up 10% year-on-year. The actual utilization of foreign capital was 40.78 billion yuan, up 14.1% year-on-year, accounting for 11.8% of the whole country.

Fourth, among the main sources of investment, investment in Singapore, South Korea, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Macao increased significantly. The actual investment increased by 33.9%, 66.9%, 5.1%, 16.3%, 56.9% and 72% respectively.

The actual amount of foreign investment in ASEAN increased by 38.9% year-on-year; Investment in countries along the Belt and Road increased by 38.8% year-on-year.

Four, about the situation of China’s cultural trade in the first four months of this year.

From January to April 2018, China’s cultural trade and investment grew steadily, and the total import and export of cultural products and services reached US$ 36.96 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.5%. Among them, the total import and export of cultural products was US$ 25.51 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9%; The total import and export of cultural services was US$ 11.45 billion, up 25.1% year-on-year. The foreign investment of culture, sports and entertainment industry was 730 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 7 times, accounting for 2% of China’s total foreign investment. Mainly has the following characteristics:

First, the scale has steadily increased. From January to April, the export of cultural products reached US$ 22.43 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%; Imports reached US$ 3.08 billion, up by 23.7% year-on-year; the trade surplus of cultural products reached US$ 19.35 billion; the export of cultural services reached US$ 2.41 billion, up by 9.4% year-on-year; imports reached US$ 9.04 billion, up by 30% year-on-year; and the trade deficit of cultural services reached US$ 6.63 billion.

Second, the structure tends to be optimized. The import and export of cultural services accounted for 31% of the total cultural trade, an increase of 3 percentage points over the same period last year. In the export of cultural services, license fees for audio-visual and related products, cultural and entertainment services and advertising services increased by 44.1%, 32.3% and 24.6% respectively, accounting for 85% of the export of cultural services, accounting for an increase of 11 percentage points. In the export of cultural products, the export of cultural special equipment and publications with high added value increased by 13.6% and 6% respectively.

Third, the market is more diversified. China exported 4.57 billion US dollars of cultural products to countries along the "Belt and Road", up 10.7% year-on-year, accounting for 20.4% of the total export of cultural products, accounting for an increase of 0.7 percentage points. The export of cultural products to "BRIC countries" such as Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa reached 1.34 billion US dollars, up 35.2% year-on-year.

The above is the information I need to inform you on my own initiative, and I would like to answer the questions raised by journalists and friends below. Please ask questions below.

【CCTV journalistPlease tell us what consensus, achievements and highlights the SCO Qingdao Summit has reached in economic and trade cooperation.

【peakThe Qingdao Summit of the SCO has achieved many achievements in the economic and trade field, which has injected new impetus into regional economic cooperation. Mainly reflected in the following three aspects:

First, continue to promote trade facilitation in the region. During the summit, the heads of member countries jointly issued the Joint Statement on Trade Facilitation, which will promote the process of trade facilitation among member countries and promote the growth of trade by simplifying customs procedures, reducing import and export procedures and improving transparency. The SCO countries actively participate in and support the China International Import Expo to be held in Shanghai in November this year, which will build a strong cooperation platform for expanding inter-regional trade.

The second is to increase efforts to support the cooperation of SMEs. All parties stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation in e-commerce, developing service industry and service trade, and supporting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and jointly signed a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises. By supporting exhibition forums and organizing seminars and training, they will promote cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises in various countries in e-commerce, innovative research and development, and stimulate the potential of regional economic cooperation.

The third is to issue a common voice in support of the multilateral trading system. In the Qingdao Declaration, the heads of member states emphasized their support for improving the global economic governance system, consolidating the multilateral trading system and safeguarding the authority and effectiveness of the World Trade Organization, and issued a unanimous voice against the fragmentation of international trade relations and trade protectionism. Thank you.

【Central Radio and Television General Station Yang Guang reporterOn the issue of the Qingdao Summit of the SCO, we have noticed that the Chairman of the Supreme Leader mentioned that he supports the construction of a demonstration zone for local economic and trade cooperation of the Shanghai, China Cooperation Organization in Qingdao. What specific functions will this demonstration zone undertake? What’s the goal? What are the main areas of cooperation with SCO member States?

【peakEconomic and trade cooperation is an important engine for the development of the SCO. Building a demonstration zone of China-SCO local economic and trade cooperation in Qingdao is to give full play to Qingdao’s geographical advantages and the functional advantages of land-sea combined transport, and to build a new platform for economic and trade cooperation between China and SCO countries. At present, Qingdao is working with relevant departments to further improve the work plan of the demonstration zone, initially considering exploring the mode of two-way interaction at home and abroad, focusing on developing modern service industries such as trade logistics and cross-border e-commerce, and promoting trade and investment cooperation among SCO countries and regions. At the same time, through the demonstration construction of local economic and trade cooperation, China enterprises are encouraged to actively participate in the construction of overseas economic and trade cooperation parks in other SCO countries, carry out cooperation in processing and assembly, agriculture, logistics and other fields, explore convenient customs clearance modes, and build a service platform for two-way trade and investment.

We will actively support the construction of Qingdao Demonstration Zone and promote the pragmatic economic and trade cooperation among SCO countries to achieve new results. Thank you.

【Guoguang reporter from Central Radio and Television General StationPresident Supreme Leader and President Putin held the first meeting between the two heads of state this year in Beijing on the 8 th. What achievements have the two sides made in the economic and trade field during the meeting? What role will it play in promoting bilateral economic and trade relations in the future?

【peakDuring the meeting between the heads of state of China and Russia, China and Russia reached a number of important consensuses on pragmatic economic and trade cooperation, signed a series of pragmatic cooperation documents and achieved fruitful results.

With regard to the connection between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, the two sides signed the Joint Statement on Completing the Joint Feasibility Study of the Eurasian Economic Partnership Agreement, and will hold consultations on issues related to service trade, investment, e-commerce, economic and technological cooperation, small and medium-sized enterprises and trade in goods in the future negotiations of the Eurasian Economic Partnership Agreement. This will help to promote the establishment of a comprehensive, high-level trade and investment liberalization arrangement in Europe and Asia that will be open to other economies in the future.

In terms of trade and investment, the two sides signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of E-commerce, and agreed to set up an e-commerce cooperation working group to strengthen cooperation in policies and regulations, information exchange, local cooperation, joint research and e-commerce platforms. It will create favorable conditions for the development of cross-border e-commerce trade between the two countries. In addition, the two sides also signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Investment Cooperation, agreeing to promote the implementation of key investment cooperation projects and support small and medium-sized enterprises to strengthen investment cooperation.

In terms of strategic large-scale projects, the two sides signed seven documents on four projects in the nuclear field, and decided to cooperate on major projects such as demonstration fast reactors. This is by far the largest cooperation project in the nuclear field between the two countries, which will strongly promote bilateral trade and industrial cooperation. In the space field, the two sides signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Moon and Deep Space Exploration. In the field of transportation, the two sides signed an intergovernmental agreement on international road transport, which will further promote the facilitation of international road transport.

Generally speaking, the economic and trade achievements reached during the meeting between the heads of state of China and Russia are fruitful, which fully reflects the close economic and trade relations between the two countries and lays a solid foundation for the level of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries to reach a new level in the new era. Thank you.

【Economic information daily reporter】 At the beginning of June, the the State Council executive meeting decided to substantially reduce the tariffs on imported goods, including washing machines and refrigerators. I would like to ask the Ministry of Commerce, this year is 40 years of reform and opening up. What will be the next step in increasing exports?

【peakWhile actively expanding imports, we will also strive to promote exports, promote superior import and export of foreign trade, and achieve balanced development.

As we all know, export has been an important driving force of the national economy for 40 years since the reform and opening up, and it is known as one of the "Troika" and plays an irreplaceable role in China’s economic development and industrial upgrading. Since 2009, China has become the world’s largest exporter of goods.

In the new era, China’s economy has entered a stage of high-quality development, and exports are also facing the problem of high-quality development. In the next step, China’s export development will not simply pursue scale and speed, but pay more attention to quality and efficiency. In terms of endogenous motivation, we will focus on cultivating new advantages in export competition, no longer at the expense of resources and environment, nor simply relying on low-cost human resources, but highlighting new core competitiveness such as technology, brand and service. In terms of export market, we will continue to promote market diversification, increase the development of emerging markets, and meet the diversified needs of different markets.

In short, we will strive to promote the transformation of China’s exports from scale and speed to quality and efficiency, and continue to play a role in promoting the high-quality development of the national economy. Thank you.

【Shanghai securities news reporterLast Friday, the customs released the import and export data for May, which showed that the trade surplus of goods in the first five months reached 99.67 billion US dollars, and the data released earlier by the Ministry of Commerce showed that the deficit of service trade in the first four months had reached 88.24 billion US dollars. Therefore, some analysts say that the deficit of service trade may exceed the surplus of goods trade from January to May, and the deficit of service trade in the whole year may exceed $300 billion. May I ask the spokesman, what do you think of the expanding trend of the current service trade deficit? What specific measures will the Ministry of Commerce take to promote the development of service trade?

【peakThe trade situation is closely related to a country’s industrial development level and market demand. At present, the development of China’s service trade conforms to the universal law of international economic and trade development, and also reflects the level and stage of China’s economic development.

From the international experience, it is a universal law that there is a service trade deficit in the process of transformation of manufacturing powers. I have a set of figures here: since statistics were available in 1980, the service trade between Japan and Germany has been in deficit for 36 consecutive years. In 1999, Germany’s service trade deficit reached a peak of $60 billion, accounting for 27% of that year’s service trade. In 1990, Japan’s service trade deficit accounted for 34% of service trade. It is predicted that in the next few years, China’s service trade deficit will still expand, and it may develop to a certain extent before it gradually narrows.

Domestically, the service trade deficit is the result of the dual needs of China’s industrial transformation and upgrading and residents’ consumption upgrading. As China’s economy enters the stage of high-quality development, the demand for high-quality service trade products is also increasing. For example, in certain industries such as intellectual property, the demand is increasing rapidly, and the trade deficit is also expanding. On the one hand, it shows that China’s market potential is huge; on the other hand, it should be noted that the overall competitiveness of China’s service industry is still far behind that of developed countries.

In the next step, we will take promoting the healthy development of service trade as an important part of building a trade power, better promote the overall development of the national economy in the new era, and meet consumers’ demand for high-quality services.

First, actively promote pilot demonstrations from point to area. On the basis of summing up the pilot experience, we will promote the relevant experience to the whole country as soon as possible. The second is to cultivate new formats and models and accelerate the digitalization of service trade. Third, build the national brand of "China Service" and cultivate China’s own comprehensive service providers. We hope that through efforts, China’s service trade will be upgraded in scale, its structure will be continuously optimized, and its competitiveness will be continuously enhanced, thus forming a new competitive advantage of China’s open economy in the new era. Thank you.

【China news service reporterWe noticed that China’s foreign trade continued to grow at a high level in May. Some analysts believe that the effect of export preemption before the United States imposed tariffs on China was obvious. What do you think of this issue?

【peakIn the first five months of this year, China’s foreign trade continued to maintain a stable and positive trend and achieved steady and rapid development, which was the result of the joint action of many factors. First, the demand in the international market is picking up. Since the beginning of this year, the international economy has continued on the track of recovery. According to the forecast of the World Trade Organization, the growth of global trade volume will reach 4.4% in 2018, exceeding the growth rate of the global economy for two consecutive years. Secondly, the core competitiveness of China’s foreign trade is constantly increasing. Despite the pressure of rising factor costs, the transfer of some industries and the competition from other economies, China’s foreign trade is still actively transformed and upgraded under the impetus of the market, and its competitiveness is constantly improved in many aspects such as product quality, grade, brand and service. Third, the rapid growth of imports has also driven the overall growth of foreign trade. With the release of consumption potential in the domestic market and the rising prices of some commodities, China’s imports increased by 12.6% in the first five months of this year, driving the growth of overall foreign trade.

As for the phenomenon of grabbing exports due to your concern about changes in the trade environment, according to our understanding, there are such cases, and some enterprises have increased the number of short orders to avoid risks. But this is not the mainstream and will not affect the steady and healthy development of China’s foreign trade. We will continue to work hard to create a trade environment conducive to transformation and high-quality development for enterprises. Thank you. Here’s the last question.

【Macao Australia Asia TV reporterForeign media reported that the French Prime Minister will visit China at the end of the month. Would you please tell us about the current economic and trade situation between China and France? I’d also like to ask you to introduce the consultation plan on WTO reform submitted by France to China. How will China and France jointly speak out against trade protectionism?

【peakWith regard to Sino-French economic and trade cooperation, since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has developed steadily. In March 2014, the Chairman of the Supreme Leader paid a successful state visit to France, which ushered in a new era of close and lasting comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Bilateral economic and trade relations accelerated in an all-round way and gradually formed an all-round, wide-ranging and multi-level cooperation pattern. At present, France is China’s fourth largest trading partner, the fourth largest source of actual investment, the third largest investment destination and the second largest technology importer in the EU. China is the largest trading partner of France in Asia. In 2017, the bilateral trade volume between China and France reached US$ 54.46 billion, up 15.4% year-on-year, of which China exported US$ 27.67 billion, up 12.1% year-on-year and imported US$ 26.79 billion, up 19.1% year-on-year. In the first four months of this year, the bilateral trade volume between China and France reached US$ 18.64 billion, up 22.5% year-on-year, of which China exported US$ 9.34 billion, up 16.9% year-on-year. China imported 9.3 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 28.7%. The cooperation between the two sides in energy, aviation, pension, environmental protection, finance and other fields is increasingly close.

At present, China has not received the French consultation plan on the reform of the World Trade Organization. As an important member of the European Union, France has always actively supported free trade and opposed trade protectionism. China is willing to make joint efforts with France to safeguard the multilateral trading system, oppose trade protectionism and promote the sustained and healthy development of trade liberalization and economic globalization.

Today’s press conference is over, thank you.