Shu Jueting: Friends from the press, good afternoon. Welcome to MOFCOM’s regular press conference. Since I don’t have any announcement to make today, we may proceed directly to the Q&A session.

The floor is open.

Shenzhen TV: President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Vietnam recently. What will MOFCOM do to implement the consensus reached between the leaders and advance the trade and economic relations between China and Vietnam?

Shu Jueting: Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, paid a state visit to Vietnam and held talks with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong. The two sides announced the new positioning of the relationship between the CPC and CPV and the two nations and agreed to jointly build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future based on deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

MOFCOM will work with relevant authorities in Vietnam to implement the important consensus reached between the top leaders of the CPC and CPV and the two countries, and bring the bilateral practical cooperation to a higher level.

First, we will ensure trade stability and connectivity. We will give full play to the mechanisms such as the trade connectivity working group and jointly promote cooperation on greater opening up of the ports along the borders between China and Vietnam, smart border ports and single window services. We will support the development of small-sum border trade, trading between border residents and cross-border e-commerce and enhance the efficiency and facilitation of bilateral trade.

Second, we will strengthen cooperation in emerging areas. We will implement the memorandums of understanding on enhancing investment cooperation on digital economy and green development MOFCOM signed with Vietnam, and step exchanges and cooperation on digital economy, green economy and clean energy.

Third, we will expand areas of agricultural economic and trade cooperation. We will make good use of exhibitions and cross-border e-commerce platforms such as the CIIE, the Canton Fair and the China-Asean Expo to import more high-quality agricultural products from Vietnam. We will support enterprises in strengthening trade cooperation on rice and cassava, and working more closely in the industrial and supply chains of agricultural products.

Fourth, we will deepen multilateral cooperation. China and Vietnam will strengthen cooperation under RCEP, APEC, WTO and other mechanisms, and safeguard the global free trade system, and build secure, stable, unimpeded, efficient, open, inclusive and mutually beneficial global industrial and supply chains. Thank you.

China News Service: China’s foreign trade has shown remarkable momentum of improvement in recent months. In November, the year-on-year growth rate of China’s import and export picked up further. What is the Ministry of Commerce’s comment?

Shu Jueting: In recent months, China’s trade in goods has shown a steady upward momentum, and the growth rate of imports and exports in renminbi terms has picked up for four consecutive months, with positive growth in October and November. The positive factors for the development of foreign trade continue to build up, further contributing to the stabilization of trade:

First, trade activity continues to rise. China’s exports have bucked the trend since August, and the growth rate has continued to expand. Exports rose 12% in November, reaching the peak since the second quarter. At the same time, imports have maintained positive growth for 10 consecutive months. The steady growth of trade volume is an important support for stabilizing and improving the structure of foreign trade.

Second, external demand shows signs of recovery. In November, China’s exports to the United States grew by 9.6%, ending a 14-month decline, while the decrease in imports from and exports to Japan and South Korea narrowed. Mobile phones, home appliances and other consumer electronics have seen a notable momentum of recovery and growth. In November, integrated circuit imports registered positive growth in value for the first time in 2023, with the volume of imports increasing for three consecutive months, showing the improvement in export demand for electronic products.

Third, business expectations continue to improve. According to the monitoring and survey of MOFCOM, the export orders of foreign trade enterprises have improved for six consecutive months.

Going forward, in accordance with the deployment of the Central Economic Work Conference, MOFCOM will work with relevant ministries and localities to cultivate new growth drivers of foreign trade, keep the fundamentals of foreign trade and foreign investment stable, open new space for foreign trade, and provide strong policy support and efficient services for the development and innovation of foreign trade enterprises. Thank you.

Daily Business News: It is reported that EU countries reached a common ground on the Net-Zero Industry Act on December 7, agreeing to continue to allow Chinese products to be part of most renewable energy subsidy programs. What is your comment?

Shu Jueting: China and the EU are both committed to accelerating green transformation and tackling climate change. The two sides have complementary industries in green development and enjoy broad cooperation prospects. At the 24th China-EU Summit held this month, Chinese and EU leaders reached consensus on the importance of deepening China-EU green partnership. China is ready to work with the EU to implement the leaders’ consensus, strengthen cooperation in green industries, keep markets open to each other, deliver win-win results, and make collective contributions to global economic recovery and response to climate change.

Shanghai Securities: In the recent holiday shopping season in Europe and the United States, some cross-border e-commerce platforms performed well. How does the Ministry of Commerce evaluate the development of cross-border e-commerce and other new business formats this year? What work will be done in the future?

Shu Jueting: We noted that since the fourth quarter, many cross-border e-commerce platforms have performed well and won consumers from many countries, including from Europe and the United States, as they held promotional activities, worked to increase traffic, and provide better services. According to industry data, the transaction value of some platforms in the European and American markets more than doubled in November. China’s cross-border e-commerce has continued to grow rapidly this year. In the first three quarters, import and export through cross-border e-commerce channels reached RMB1.7 trillion, up 14.4% year on year, driving goods import and export up by more than one percentage point.

This year, we have submitted to the State Council the Opinions on Maintaining Stable Scale and Improving the Structure of Foreign Trade to encourage local governments to develop cross-border e-commerce and foster industrial belts. Together with other departments, we published Measures to Support the Development of Cross-border E-commerce Offshore Warehouses to optimize measures for export returns of cross-border e-commerce enterprises. We organized on-site meetings for cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses, held special training on new business forms, selected and disseminated best practices, and took multiple measures to promote innovation, and healthy and sustained development of cross-border e-commerce.

Going forward, we will continue to be problem-oriented, place equal emphasis on regulation and development, and focus on three aspects. First, we will strengthen capacity building. We will give full play to the role of industry organizations to provide training on issues of concern when cross-border e-commerce enterprises explore overseas markets, such as compliance and intellectual property protection. Second, we will promote data sharing. We will strengthen the building of overseas smart logistics platforms, optimize the online integrated service platforms in cross-border e-commerce pilot areas, and match more cross-border e-commerce enterprises with overseas warehouse enterprises. Third, we will accelerate standard-setting. China has created more than 100 national and industry standards for cross-border e-commerce operation. We will encourage local governments to turn more tested and effective practices into standards that are fitting for local conditions. Thank you.

China Business News: ZF, a large German auto parts supplier, recently announced that it aims to increase its sales in the Chinese market from 18 percent last year to 30 percent within this decade, showing its confidence in the Chinese market. How does the Ministry of Commerce evaluate the economic and trade cooperation between China and Germany in the auto industry?

Shu Jueting: The automobile industry is a highlight and model in China-Germany economic and trade cooperation. According to Chinese statistics, automobiles and spare parts represent China’s largest imports from Germany. In the first ten months of this year, the imports were worth nearly USD20 billion, accounting for 21.9% of China’s total import from Germany.

Over the past four decades, major German auto makers and parts suppliers have invested and built factories in China, and engaged in effective and win-win cooperation with their Chinese partners. Recently, many German automakers have made announcement to increase their investment in R&D and new energy vehicles in China, which represents a vote of confidence in the Chinese market. In the meantime, Chinese automakers are also increasing investment and operations in Germany and other European countries.

China has become the world’s largest new energy vehicle market and a pacesetter in industrial innovation. This will provide broad space for the development of auto makers and parts suppliers from other countries, including German companies. We hope to deepen open and inclusive trade and investment cooperation with countries from around the world, jointly promote green and low-carbon transformation of the auto industry, and make contributions to global response to climate change and world economic recovery. Thank you.

Reuters: I have two questions. First, since China’s graphite export controls took effect on December 1, has China received export applications from companies, and will the licenses be approved? Second, as Italy has formally informed China of its decision to end its participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), will this affect trade and economic cooperation between the two countries?

Shu Jueting: On your first question. Since the adjusted interim graphite export controls entered into force on December 1, we have received export applications from businesses. After review procedures in accordance with laws and regulations, several applications that are rules-compliant have been approved. MOFCOM will continue to review and make decisions on businesses licenses in accordance with laws and regulations.

On your second question. The BRI, proposed a decade ago, has attracted over 150 countries and partners in various fields and delivered concrete benefits and wellbeing to the businesses and people of BRI partner countries, including Italy, becoming a most popular international public good and largest platform for international cooperation. China and Italy have extensive common interests and a deep foundation for cooperation. Italy is an important trade and investment partner of China in the EU. The two countries have made remarkable achievements with regard of cooperation in agricultural and food products, consumer goods, and high-end manufacturing, and share broad space for cooperation in small and medium-sized enterprises, new energy, and third-market cooperation. Thank you.

The Paper: MOFCOM recently held a roundtable for foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) to hear briefings of some FIEs and foreign chambers of commerce on their operations in China. What’s MOFCOM’s comment on the current situation of foreign investment and foreign investment utilization?

Shu Jueting: Due to compounded impacts of economic and non-economic factors, there have been fluctuations in China’s utilized foreign investment this year, the reasons for which we have explained on many occasions. It’s worth noting that the amount of attracted foreign investment remains high, with a continuously optimizing structure and increasing share of high-tech sectors, reflecting foreign investors’ strong interest in China. From January to October, actual investment of Canada, the UK, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands in China increased by 110.3%, 94.6%, 90.0%, 66.1%, and 33.0%, respectively (including investment via free ports).

China is committed to building a world-class business environment based on market principles, governed by a sound legal framework, and up to international standards, and providing better services to FIEs. The 24-point measures to stabilize foreign investment, which you are very familiar with, are targeted steps rolled out after extensively soliciting the suggestions and requests of FIEs, with a focus on key complexities and pressing difficulties they face. Relevant authorities and local governments are working hard to implement them. Many specific measures have been introduced as of late, such as extending tax exemption of three types of allowances for foreign expatriates and tax refunds for the purchase of China-made equipment by foreign-invested R&D centers, enhancing protection against online infringement, introducing visa-free entry for ordinary passport holders of six countries, and facilitating visa applications. Some other policies, such as optimizing application procedures for domestic production of drugs already marketed overseas, and regulating and promoting cross-border flow of data. We believe that as these concrete steps are implemented, the difficulties that businesses frequently report will be effectively addressed, and foreign investors will see a better business environment in China.

In the next step, as we thoroughly implement the guiding principles of the Central Conference on Economic Work, we will expand high-standard opening-up, follow high-standard international trade and economic rules, steadfastly advance institutional opening-up, respond proactively to the requests of FIEs, keep facilitating people-to-people exchanges, and optimize foreign investment promotion and service. We believe that more foreign investors will choose to invest in China, seize opportunity in China, and achieve shared development with an open China. Thank you.

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