Dear friends from the press,

Good morning, welcome to the regular press conference of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). First of all, I have three pieces of information to release.

I. the Development Index of China’s Shopping Centers in the second quarter.
Today, MOFCOM released The Report on the Development Index of China’s Shopping Centers in the second quarter.

The report showed that in the second quarter of 2017, the development index of China’s shopping centers was 64.8, 3.5points lower than that in the first quarter. The present situation index was 57.9, 5.7 points lower than that in the first quarter. This reflected that after the New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, the selling season, and before the summer promotions, the operation of the shopping centers dropped slightly. The index was still expected to reach 75.1. Nearly 95% of the shopping center owners predicted that the sales would increase differently in the next six months.

The report showed that in the second quarter of 2017, the leasing activity index of China’s shopping centers was 81.3, 0.5 points higher than that in the first quarter, which meant the brands still had strong will to enter into the shopping centers. The cost control index was 33.0, 17.0 points lower than the PMI benchmark line, 6.7 points lower than that in the first quarter, which meant the operation cost, mainly from marketing and technological input, continued to increase. Different from the index falling of urban and regional shopping centers and outlets, community shopping centers’ index reached 73.5, 5.9 points higher than that in the first quarter. Over 80% community shopping centers enjoyed double growth in sales and rents, and more than 90% projects got more leasing enquiry.

On the whole, the shopping center market maintains an upward growth trend. In the second half of the year, the Golden Week holiday and the year-end discount season will help the shopping center market to pick up growth, and will further boost the owners’ confidence for the market.

II. The Situation of MOFCOM Actively Helping Macao SAR Government to Deal with Typhoon
On August 23 2017, the No. 13 typhoon “Hato” hit Macao and caused casualties and property loss. MOFCOM has paid high attention to it and launched the contingency plan in the first place to ensure the supply of agricultural products, and at the same time, transported relief supplies to help Macao to cope with this natural disaster.

MOFCOM contacted the relevant department of Macao after this typhoon, directed the Trade Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office in Marco to see the affected areas and report the supply situation how the mainland’s agricultural products were transferred to Macao. After that, MOFCOM made the deployment work for the mainland companies: first, direct them to overcome transport problems and actively collect resources, and all the agricultural supplies to Macao must arrive at the wholesale market by August 24; second, forbid the wholesalers to raise the prices to ensure a stable market. The next day after the landing of this typhoon, the agricultural supplies from the mainland to Macao became normal and the Macao market kept stable with no panic buying or price hiking.

At the noon of August 25, MOFCOM coordinated the Commerce Department of Guangdong Province to act immediately after talking to Macao government, and got settled all supplies to Macao in six hours, including supplies that were not available in the mainland emergency supplies and demanded special allocation. In the small hours of August 26, all relief supplies arrived in Macao in batches including huge garbage bags, besoms, masks, labor gloves, spades, galoshes, four-wheeled garbage trucks, flashlights and drinking water. All those were used to help the affected people and clean the garbage-covered streets through the Macao Foundation and the IACM.

This typhoon is the most severe natural disaster after Macao returns back to China. The immediate help and the coordination of the relevant regions and departments of MOFCOM fully shows the Central Government’s concern and support for Macao. We believe the Macao people and the whole society can feel that their motherland will always give them the most powerful backup.
MOFCOM will continue to pay attention to the disaster response and keep close contact with the relevant Macao department to guarantee the stable supply and the quality of the agricultural products. At the same time, MOFCOM will actively allocate the supplies based on the actual need to make sure that the post-disaster reconstruction work is launched orderly.

III. About the 2017 International Seminar on Trade Remedy of BRICS

The BRICS countries suffered severely from the influence of the trade remedy measures. According to the statistics of the WTO, the anti-dumping and countervailing investigations against the BRICS countries accounted for 43% and 61% of the world total respectively. By the middle of 2016, the anti-dumping investigations against the BRICS countries had amounted to 1,732 and that of countervailing 205, up to 34.8% of the world total.

Three seminars have been held by the BRICS countries on trade remedy since the first meeting in Beijing in 2012. Vice Minister Wang Shouwen delivered a keynote speech entitled Deepening the BRICS Countries’ Cooperation and Preserving Multilateral Trade System, and the heads from trade remedy agencies of the BRICS countries and the officials from the WTO Rules Division made speeches on specific issues. All participants deeply and efficiently communicated and discussed how to deepen the BRICS countries’ cooperation and how to promote negotiations on rules and the technological issues in trade relief investigations. They fully exchanged views on their concerns and broadened their consensus.

China proposed that the BRICS countries should launch different kinds of cooperation on trade relief sector. Through seminars and bilateral trade relief cooperation mechanism, the BRICS countries should deeply communicate and exchange ideas in trade relief rule areas including legislation and practices, further enhance mutual understanding and mutual trust among governments, industries and enterprises, improve cooperation level and defuse trade frictions properly.

The BRICS countries have broad and solid cooperation basis and mutual benefit. The five BRICS countries’ economic aggregate proportion in the world economy has increased from 12% to 23% and the trade volume has risen from 11% to 16%. Under such circumstances, the trade remedy and investigation departments have acted actively to cooperate and take practical measures. They emphasized the fair, objective and reasonable use of trade remedy rules, strove to solve each other’s concerns through dialogues and provided favorable environment for further promoting the BRICS countries’ trade development and win-win cooperation.
　
That's all for the information. Now please ask your questions.

China News Service: We’ve noticed that Brazilian President Temer is visiting China very soon. To MOFCOM’s knowledge, what plans do China and Brazil have to further advance bilateral commercial ties? Thank you.

Thank you for your question. Brazil is China’s largest trading partner in Latin America, whereas China has been Brazil’s No.1 trading partner for 8 years in a row. The two economies enjoy great complementarity with broad prospects for trade cooperation. To take China-Brazil trade cooperation to a higher level, the two sides are fostering new areas of growth, reinventing cooperation models and strengthening cooperation on trade in services and e-commerce.

In recent years, owing to the slump in commodities prices among other factors, bilateral trade volume has dropped. That said, the businesses of the two countries have come a long way in investment and infrastructure cooperation. Currently, more and more Chinese companies would like to invest in Brazil, with ever-widening cooperation scope and increasingly diversified investment. On Brazil’s part, a number of measures have been taken to further open up the market and actively improve investment environment. For example, on 23rd, Brazil unveiled the plan for the privatization of 57 concession projects, granting foreign investors access to power, ports, airports and other infrastructure. China will continue to encourage capable companies to invest in Brazil and take part in its investment partnership program. On May 30th, 2017, the Fund for Expanding China-Brazil Capacity Cooperation of 20 billion USD was launched. Surely this will provide needed support for the two countries’ key cooperation projects.

On Aug. 22nd, the 6th plenary of the Trade and Economic Sub-committee of China-Brazil High-level Coordination and Cooperation Committee was held in Beijing to set the stage for the upcoming summit on the commercial front. At the meeting, the two sides identified the direction, priorities and targets for further trade and economic cooperation. China’s bullish on Brazil’s economic outlook and full of confidence in the future of China-Brazil commercial cooperation. However the external environment changes, the economic mutual benefit and complementarity between the two countries will provide bilateral commercial cooperation with endogenous and endless dynamics and drive both economies to the benefit of both peoples.

CCTV-2: A few days ago, MOFCOM instituted anti-dumping investigations on imported rubber from the US, the EU and Singapore. Should this be viewed as China’s countermeasure against the Section 301 investigation of the US?

Gao Feng: Thank you for your question. Regarding this case, we launch the investigation in response to the petition of related domestic industry. We received the application from the domestic industry on Aug. 14th. A review found the conditions for filing as provided by the Anti-dumping Regulations had been met. So we released an announcement yesterday to start the investigation. This is a regular trade remedy case. I see no occasion to link it up to other cases.

MOFCOM will proceed with the investigation fairly and justly in line with WTO rules.

China Industrial and Economic News: The National Conference on Commerce Assistance for Tibet was held a few days ago. Could you brief us on the outcomes of the meeting and the progress of commerce assistance for Tibet so far? What measures will be introduced moving forward?

Gao Feng: Thank you for your questions. On Aug. 15th, MOFCOM held the National Conference on Commerce Assistance for Tibet in Lhasa. We circulated the Guiding Opinions on Doing a Good Job on Commerce Assistance for Tibet and signed the Framework Agreement on Establishing a Cooperation Mechanism with the People’s Government of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Related MOFCOM departments and the commerce authorities of the province for paired assistance also signed cooperation agreements with related departments and locales of Tibet on supporting Tibet’s foreign trade and economic development and the action plan on paired assistance.

Over the years, the commerce system nationwide has attached great importance to assistance for Tibet. According to the decisions and deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, assistance for Tibet is regarded as an important political mission. The advantages of commerce are fully tapped to enable the integration of Tibet and the Tibetan areas of four provinces into the overall planning of national commerce development and drive their economic and social development. We actively coordinate the two sets of markets and resources to scale up our support. For example, 48 counties in Tibet and the Tibetan area of four provinces were included in the rural e-commerce comprehensive pilot program to facilitate the agro-circulation system building in Tibet. We actively coordinate UNDP and other multilateral and bilateral institutions to run assistance programs in Tibet and the Tibetan areas of four provinces. Tibet also enjoys special support in development of the Belt and Road initiative and the BCIM Corridor to build a major pathway for the open-up to South Asia. Coordination was strengthened between the seven national economic and technological development zones in the east and the Lhasa Economic and Technological Development Zone. Efforts are made to step up two-way talent flows and training. Thanks to concerted efforts, the Conference made positive progress, effectively boosting the endogenous dynamics of local commerce, economic and social development and lasting peace and stability.

For the next steps, the national commerce system will follow up on the deployment of the Conference and focus on the following areas. First, we will support Tibet and the Tibetan areas of four provinces in developing rural e-commerce so that by the end of 2019 national poor counties in the region that are ready can all get enrolled into the comprehensive demonstration program for rural e-commerce. Second, we will support the tracing system building for Tibetan specialty goods and run a pilot for precise poverty alleviation through the tracing system. Third, we will promote foreign trade in the region and sponsor Tibetan businesses taking part in the Canton Fair, among others. Fourth, we will continue to support national economic and technological development zones and border and cross-border economic cooperation zones in the Tibetan region. Fifth, we will guide bilateral and multilateral efforts to assist Tibet and the Tibetan areas in four provinces. Sixth, we will launch the campaign of commerce capacity building for 1000 Tibetan officials to continue the two-way exchange and training of officials.

21st Century Business Herald: The BRICS Summit is about to take place in Xiamen. What outcomes will be achieved on the economic and trade fronts? Could you please give an overview of China’s trade and investment cooperation with other BRICS countries?

Gao Feng: Thank you for your questions. The upcoming BRICS Xiamen Summit will focus on, among others, deepening result-oriented cooperation, enhancing global governance, promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges and facilitating institutional development.

With respect to trade and economic cooperation, since the start of this year, we have held three meetings of the Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues. In early August, the 7th BRICS Trade Ministers’ Meeting was held successfully in Shanghai. Under the joint efforts, the five countries have agreed upon a series of cooperation initiatives, paving the way for the Xiamen Summit in this regard.

It is expected that the Xiamen Summit will achieve positive and practical outcomes in such areas as growing trade, strengthening investment facilitation cooperation, deepening economic and technological cooperation and supporting the multilateral trading system and press ahead with the development of BRICS integrated market.

China looks forward to working with other BRICS members to push for consensus on the above outcomes at the Summit and scale new heights in BRICS trade and economic cooperation.

Regarding China’s trade and investment in other BRICS countries, according to Chinese customs, in the first seven months this year, the value of imports and exports totaled 167.07 billion dollars with a year-on-year growth of 26%. By the end of July, Chinese direct investment in the non-financial sector of other BRICS countries had amounted to 870 million dollars. The intra-BRICS investment flow has enormous potential of growth. Thank you.

Shanghai Securities News: China was a net capital exporter both in 2015 and 2016. Does it mean China has entered a stage of net capital export? What is MOFCOM’s comment?

Gao Feng: Thank you for your questions. In 2015, Chinese outbound direct investment was 145.67 billion dollars, which was 10.07 billion dollars more than the paid-in foreign investment. Last year, due to the implications of some irrational factors, the difference was estimated to stand at close to 60 billion dollars. China has become the biggest exporter of goods in the world since 2009. It is fair to say that China has transitioned from a big exporter of goods to an exporter of goods and capital, including capital goods.

However, I think it is too early to say China has entered a stage of net capital export. From the perspective of investment stock, in 2015, the outbound investment made by the US, Germany and the UK was 5.98 trillion dollars, 1.81 trillion dollars and 1.53 trillion dollars respectively while China’s outbound investment was 1.09 trillion dollars. China still lags behind those traditional net capital exporters. From the perspective of the development stage of Chinese OFID, Chinese enterprises only started investment in other countries not long ago and China is shifting from the initial stage to transformation and upgrade. The Chinese government will continue to guide and support competent enterprises to invest overseas in an authentic and rightful way, promote economic transformation and upgrade and enhance the quality and returns of economy. Thank you!

CRI: MOFCOM has been drafting a policy on protecting intellectual property rights of foreign invested enterprises. Could you brief us on the latest development?

Gao Feng: Thank you. The Chinese government has always taken IPR protection work very seriously. It has worked actively to create a level playing field and enabling investment environment. In order to implement the Notice on Measures for Promoting Foreign Investment Growth issued lately by the State Council and enhance protection of IPR of foreign invested enterprises, the national leading group office on fight against IPR infringement and making and selling counterfeited and shoddy goods and relevant ministries are going to launch a joint action on IPR protection for foreign invested enterprises after a great deal of research and fully considering the opinions of foreign investors in China.

This is the first special action by the Chinese government in recent years on protecting intellectual property rights of foreign invested enterprises.

First, the special campaign highlights protection of trade secrets, which is frequently complained by the FIEs in China. Second, in protection of trademark rights, the special campaign will focus on malicious trademark registration and brand imitation. Third, with the help of internet, infringement and piracy has gradually spread from offline to online, which will be handled this time.
　
We will map out work plans soon and put them into practice before long.　　　

Due to time restraint, I will take one more question.

Global Times: What is MOFCOM’s view on the future of the bilateral trade and economic relations after the Sino-Indian row ends?

Gao Feng: Thank you for your question. China and India are major trading partners. The bilateral trade ties have maintained a stable momentum. China is India’s largest trading partner while India is China’s most important trading partner, investment destination and contract project market in South Asia. The bilateral cooperation has grown in scope and quality. Our two countries have been working with each other smoothly under BRICS framework. Last year, the bilateral trade reached 70.15 billion dollars. From January to July this year, China-India trade grew by 21.5% year-on-year to 47.52 billion dollars. By the end of July, Chinese investment in India had accumulated to 5.06 billion dollars and Indian investment in China reached 721 million dollars. China and India enjoy strong complementarity and enormous potential in trade and economic cooperation.

The bilateral commercial cooperation would not have come so far without years of concerted efforts by the public and private sectors of both sides. We believe the two major developing countries can pull in the same direction and continue to implement the agreement reached by the leaders in a practical and open spirit with a view to creating a favorable environment for the bilateral business cooperation and achieving mutual benefits and common development.

That concludes today’s conference. Thank you all.