Shu Jueting: Friends from the press, good afternoon. Welcome to the regular press conference of the Ministry of Commerce. I want to start by sharing a piece of information with you.

It is about the construction of the third batch of national demonstration pedestrian streets.

The Ministry of Commerce recently issued a notice approving eight pedestrian streets, including Harbin Central Street, as the third batch of “national demonstration pedestrian streets”.

The eight pedestrian streets are located in the center of the city and have a deep historical heritage and commercial foundation. As local economies grow, the environment, facilities and experiences of the old pedestrian streets have not kept up and can hardly meet the needs of consumers. To address this problem, the Ministry of Commerce has included Harbin Central Street and other pedestrian streets into the pilot program for the transformation and upgrading of national pedestrian streets since June 2020. We have worked with the local governments to draft work plans that are compatible with the development trends, history, and culture of different places where these pedestrian streets are located. We have advanced the upgrading project with solid steps and a market-oriented approach.

After the upgrading, the pedestrian streets have been transformed. First, they have taken on a new look. The local governments have worked to enhance the facade, the ground and the green landscape of the neighborhood, each with its own characteristics. For example, Harbin has completed the renovation of 62 buildings to add to the original European style. Ningbo has added landscape and decorations along the Old Bund, and lighted up more than 40 buildings along the river. Second, the consumption scenarios have been enriched. While promoting traditional forms of business, such as shopping and catering, the pedestrian streets have introduced new forms of business to provide more immersive experiences. For example, Qingdao has upgraded different functional areas of the Taidong pedestrian street, such as vibrant commerce areas and creative art areas, and connected it to the beer street and food street to integrate with the beer culture. Shijiazhuang has added 30 “business boxes” to the Wanlimiao pedestrian street, which covers 5,000 square meters of commercial space that has transformed the wholesale market into a popular consumption areas. Third, the cultural heritage is fully demonstrated. Each pedestrian street has carried on its historical heritage and highlighted unique cultural identities, and promoted the integration of business, tourism and culture. For example, Nanping in Kunming has made good use of historical buildings to build a street for time-honored brands. SanFangQiXiang of Fuzhou focused on the protection and development of the historical and cultural heritage to leverage its unique cultural appeal. Fourth, the management has been improved. Each pedestrian street has continued to improve working mechanism and widely engage stakeholders in the upgrading project, and created a management mode of joint consultation, joint governance and benefits sharing. For example, Xiamen Zhongshan Road has built a center to monitor, analyze, publish data and support operation. The smart services can offer better experiences for consumers and improve the governance capability. Huaihe Road in Hefei has combined the renovation of commercial districts with urban renewal to realize the integration of commercial management, property management and urban management. Fifth, the comprehensive benefits are gradually being felt. The eight demonstration pedestrian streets have witnessed the opening of first stores of 162 brands, 154 flagship stores, 46 time-honored Chinese brands, and more than 6,300 domestic and international brands. The average satisfaction rate of consumers and merchants is above 90%. From January to October 2023, traffic and business revenue increased by 53.3% and 31% respectively.

To date, there are 19 national demonstration pedestrian streets across the country, including the well-known Wangfujing pedestrian street in Beijing, Nanjing Road in Shanghai, Datang Everbright City in Xi’an and Kuanzhai Alley in Chengdu. In the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will review the best practices of these pedestrian streets to guide local governments in other places as they renovate and upgrade their pedestrian streets. After the renovation, they will provide more comfortable and convenient shopping and leisure environment, and better meet the consumer needs for quality and diversified goods and services.

This is the information I want to share with you. Now the floor is open to questions.

China Business News: When Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Ho Chi Minh City recently, they had an in-depth exchange of views on ways to promote high-quality development of China-Vietnam economic and trade relations. How does the Ministry of Commerce evaluate the current level of China-Vietnam economic and trade cooperation? What is its outlook for the future?

Shu Jueting: China and Vietnam are friendly socialist neighbors and a community with a shared future and strategic significance. Under the strategic guidance of General Secretaries Xi Jinping and Nguyễn Phú Trọng, China and Vietnam have achieved fruitful trade and economic cooperation.

First, bilateral trade has grown rapidly. China has been Vietnam’s largest trading partner for many years in a row, and Vietnam is China’s largest trading partner in ASEAN and the fourth largest in the world. Bilateral trade exceeded USD200 billion for two consecutive years and reached USD185.1 billion in the first 10 months of this year. Petty trade in the border areas and border trade have become increasingly active. There are many highlights in bilateral trade cooperation, with surge in the exports of durian and other agricultural products to China and flourishing cross-border e-commerce. Second, investment cooperation has been effective. China’s investment in Vietnam features a large stock, extensive areas and fast growth. Projects such as the Hanoi Light Rail Line 2 and the Sóc Sơn waste-to-energy plant have played a positive role in boosting Vietnam’s economic and social development. Steady progress has been made in investment cooperation in green development and the digital economy, which have become new growth engines for investment cooperation between the two countries. Third, regional and multilateral cooperation has been deepened. China and Vietnam have stood firmly together to uphold the multilateral trading system and strengthened coordination at the WTO, APEC and other platforms. The two countries have worked together for the entry into force and implementation of the RCEP, build the China-Asean Free Trade Area 3.0, and deepened and cooperation under the East Asia cooperation and Lancang-Mekong cooperation frameworks.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. China is ready to take this opportunity to fully implement the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the Communist Party of China and Communist Party of Vietnam and the two countries, further implement the eight steps to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, deepen and expand bilateral trade and investment cooperation, continue to advance regional economic integration, and support business cooperation in strategic and emerging areas such as connectivity, the digital economy, green development and cross-border e-commerce. China will continue to expand imports of high-quality Vietnamese products and jointly promote the high-quality development of bilateral economic and trade relations. Thank you.

CNBC: I have two questions. The first is about the Letter on Removing Measures Concerning Unreasonable and Differential Treatment to Domestic and Foreign Investment issued by MOFCOM a few weeks ago. The Letter has been welcomed by many foreign chambers of commerce. Could you brief us on the progress made so far and what measures will be taken? My second question is about the recently-announced export control measures on graphite, gallium and germanium. How many companies’ applications have MOFCOM received so far and what impact will this have on the industry?

First, regarding foreign investment. Following the instructions by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, MOFCOM is now filtering out and removing rules and measures concerning unreasonable and differential treatment to domestic and foreign investment, so as to ensure national treatment to foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and create a market-oriented and law-based business environment that is up to international standards. We are making progress and will release further information as it becomes available.

Regarding the control on graphite exports. We’ve stressed repeatedly that export controls on specific graphite items is a common practice worldwide. As per the Export Control Law and based on the opinions collected from relevant enterprises and industries, the Chinese government conducted comprehensive assessment of temporary export controls on graphite items and made a decision to optimize the control measures, which speaks to our integrated approach to development and security. These measures do not target any country or region. Permits will be given to export applications where requirements are met. The graphite export control measures will be implemented starting from December 1. No application from enterprises has been received so far.

Regarding export controls on gallium and germanium. Since the implementation of these control measures from August 1, MOFCOM has received applications from enterprises for the exportation of gallium and germanium related items. We have approved after review some of the export applications, and some companies have obtained export licenses for dual-use items. MOFCOM will continue to review the applications and decide whether to grant approval. Thank you.

Shenzhen TV: At the 10th China-Japan-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that China, Japan and the ROK need to commit to mutual benefits and resume the China-Japan-ROK FTA negotiations to facilitate regional economic integration. What are China’s expectations and plans for the FTA negotiations? How will the FTA promote the economic development of the three countries amid the volatility of global trade?

China is strongly committed to the China-Japan-ROK FTA negotiations. The three sides have reached important consensus on creating a comprehensive, high-standard and mutually-beneficial free trade agreement that has its own value, and unanimously agreed to further enhance the level and rule standards of trade in goods and services and investment liberalization, with a view to building a “RCEP+” FTA.

China, Japan and the ROK enjoy high industrial interdependence and strong economic complementarity. The FTA, once reached, will further open up the markets of the three countries, lower trade barriers, boost trade and investment and improve business environment on top of the current free trade cooperation, thus delivering tangible benefits to the businesses and peoples of the three countries.

The full entry into force of RCEP creates favorable conditions for the resumption of the FTA negotiations. China stands ready to work with the other two countries to push for the resumption of the FTA talks and contribute to the stable recovery of the regional and world economies. Thank you.

China Daily: We have noted that today China has issued the Notice on the Initiation of Review on Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duty Measures on Australian Wine Products. What is China’s comment on that? Are there any review proceedings to follow and will the AD/CVD measures be terminated?

Thanks to the joint efforts of both China and Australia, the two sides have reached consensus on properly handing the dispute under the WTO framework.

On October 31, 2023, MOFCOM received a review application from Australian Grape and Wine Incorporated, asking MOFCOM to conduct a review on the necessity of the continued anti-dumping and countervailing duties. MOFCOM, after reviewing the applicant’s claims and the evidence attached, determined that the application has met the conditions for review initiation and evidentiary requirements, therefore decided to accept the application and launch the review investigation.

In the next steps, MOFCOM will conduct the review in accordance with law, fully protect the rights of stakeholders, and make an objective, fair and impartial decision based on the stakeholders’ claims and evidence, as well as the review findings. Thank you.

Kyodo News: China export control on graphite will come into force tomorrow. Graphite is a material used in EV batteries. The control measures will have an impact on the battery supply chain worldwide. How does MOFCOM comment on that?

I just briefed you on the graphite export control. I can add some information on this matter. To assume the international obligation of non-proliferation and protect national security and interests, China started to impose temporary control on the export of graphite-related products, including the graphite used as negative electrode materials for batteries. In the pursuit of an integrated approach to development and security, the Chinese government recently has made adjustment to the temporary measures by relaxing control on some products while tightening control on some other products. We have removed the temporary control on part of the graphite items with low sensitivity. We have canvassed opinions from industries and businesses in the formulation of these policies. China will stay committed to upholding the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains. Thank you.

Reuters: Foreign Minister of Lithuania said on Tuesday that China had canceled the restrictions on the Lithuanian exports to China. Could you confirm that the two countries have normalized their trade relations? Is there anything in particular that has triggered this decision?

China’s position on the issue of Lithuania has been consistent and clear. The wrong practice by Lithuania on the Taiwan question has seriously dented the businesses confidence in engaging in mutually-beneficial cooperation. We urge Lithuania to redress mistakes as soon as possible to create favorable conditions for bilateral trade and economic cooperation. Thank you.

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