He Yadong: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the regular press conference of the Ministry of Commerce. I have no briefing to make today.

Please raise your questions.

Nanfang Media Group: Recently, the State Council held an executive meeting to study work related to service trade and service consumption. What has the Ministry of Commerce done in this regard? What measures will be taken to implement the requirements of the meeting?

He Yadong: Developing service trade and service consumption is crucial for stabilizing foreign trade and expanding domestic demand. The Ministry of Commerce has earnestly implemented the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to promote innovation in service trade, and foster and boost service consumption. In 2024, China's total import and export of services reached a record 7.5 trillion yuan, exceeding the one trillion dollars mark for the first time. Retail sales of services increased by 6.2%, and consumer spending on services increased by 7.4% year on year, contributing 63% to the growth of consumer spending.

At the executive meeting of February 21, the State Council made clear that it was important to open up the service sector to the outside and liberalize the service sector at home. More investment from home and abroad should be channeled to areas that can boost service consumption and energize the market, so that consumer demand for quality consumption can be met.

We will fully implement the negative list for cross-border trade in services and steadily promote gradual opening up. We will align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and work with relevant departments to explore and formulate a number of new opening-up measures in telecommunications, education, culture, health care, finance and other fields.

We will introduce policy portfolios to swiftly improve the "1+N" policy framework, and unveil a host of measures to support domestic service consumption, digital consumption and sports consumption, and expand the supply of high-quality services. We will strengthen the cultivation of new business forms and models, create new service consumption scenarios, so that people can truly feel the benefits. Thank you.

Kyodo News: Last week, a Japanese business delegation visited Beijing and exchanged views with Minister of Commerce. What is China's comment and what is China's expectation for future economic and trade cooperation with Japan?

He Yadong: On February 18, Minister Wang Wentao met with a Japanese business delegation in Beijing. It was the largest ever Japanese delegation to visit China, composed of 230 members, which fully demonstrates the importance that the Japanese business community attaches to the Chinese market. The Japanese entrepreneurs attending the meeting said that the steady growth of the Chinese economy is good to Japan, East Asia and beyond. They are willing to continue deepening cooperation with China and make continuous contributions to the development of China-Japan relations from the economic perspective.

Thanks to the deep economic integration between China and Japan, bilateral trade has exceeded 300 billion US dollars for many years in a row. Japan's investment stock in China has exceeded 130 billion US dollars, with more potential to unlock. The two sides should strengthen policy communication, maintain the stability of the production and supply chains, safeguard the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, and strengthen regional and multilateral cooperation. We hope that the business communities of the two countries can expand exchanges and visits, deepen cooperation in green development, health care, service trade and other fields, and contribute to the sound and stable development of China-Japan economic and trade relations. Thank you.

Market News International: The Office of the United States Trade Representative has proposed charging fees on Chinese-made ships entering U.S. ports. What is the Ministry of Commerce's comment?

He Yadong: China has already responded to this question. China has repeatedly stated that the Section 301 investigation by the US is a typical unilateralist and protectionist move that seriously violates WTO rules. China is gravely disappointed and strongly opposed to this action.

Should the US elect to proceed with imposing port fees, it would push up global shipping costs, disrupt the stability of the global production and supply chains, increase inflationary pressure in the US, weaken the global competitiveness of US goods, harm the interests of US consumers and businesses, and cause multiple damages to the US economy and employment.

China urges the US to respect facts and multilateral rules and refrain from repeating mistakes. China will closely follow the development of the situation and take measures to safeguard our interests when we have to. Thank you.

Reuters: I have two questions. First, the U.S. announced on Tuesday an investigation into copper imports, a step toward potential tariffs. As part of this decision, a White House official claimed that China is using national subsidies and industrial overcapacity to disrupt competition and control global copper production. How does the Chinese Ministry of Commerce comment on this? Second, Trump recently indicated the possibility of a new trade agreement between the U.S. and China. What kinds of communication or consultation have been conducted between the commercial teams of the U.S. and China recently? Whether the two sides have discussions on topics such as additional tariffs? Please update us on the latest progress.

He Yadong: Regarding your first question, we noted the U.S.'s decision to initiate a Section 232 investigation on copper imports. The U.S. investigation is a unilateral and protectionist act carried out under the pretext of “national security”. An expert panel from the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled as early as 2022 that the U.S. Section 232 tariff measures violate the WTO rules. However, the U.S. has not only resumed imposing Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum but also unilaterally initiated a new Section 232 investigation. This will further undermine the rules-based multilateral trading system and disrupt the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

In fact, China is a net importer of refined copper and only exports a small amount of copper products. The allegations of China using subsidies and overcapacity to disrupt competition are totally groundless. We urge the U.S. to revoke this investigation as soon as possible. If the United States insists on imposing additional tariffs and other restrictive measures, China will resolutely take necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

Regarding your second question, MOFCOM always maintains communication with its U.S. counterpart. China is firmly opposed to the U.S. unilateral tariff measures and firmly safeguards its legitimate rights and interests. China is also willing to resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation. Thank you.