He Yadong: Friends from the press, good afternoon, welcome to the regular press conference of the Ministry of Commerce. With no information to share upfront, I’d like to take your questions.

Yicai: Recently, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to France at invitation. Could you brief us on the outcomes on the economic and trade front?

He Yadong: President Xi’s visit to France concurred with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Franco diplomatic relations. Over the past six decades, bilateral trade volume grew by nearly 800 fold, hitting US$78.9 billion in 2023. China has become France’s largest trading partner outside the EU, whereas France is also China’s major trading partner in the EU. Two-way investment has surpassed US$ 26 billion, ranking among the highest in China-EU cooperation. Over 2000 French companies are operating in China. Chinese and French economies have forged a strong symbiotic relationship with intertwined interests. President Xi’s visit has provided strategic guidance for future Sino-Franco relations and renewed the impetus for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

During the visit, MOFCOM and the French Foreign Ministry signed an MOU on Strengthening SME Cooperation in a bid to provide a better business environment for SME cooperation between the two countries. The 6th meeting of the China-France Business Council was successfully held. Attended by over 200 business leaders from both countries, the meeting addressed topics such as industrial innovation and mutual trust and win-win cooperation, green economy and low-carbon transition, and new quality productive forces and sustainable development. President Xi attended the closing ceremony and delivered an important speech, sending a positive signal of China’s efforts to expand high-level opening up and further Sino-Franco and China-EU economic and trade cooperation, and demonstrating China’s desire to strengthen strategic synergy and explore the potential for mutually beneficial cooperation. After the closing ceremony, businesses from the two sides signed 15 cooperation deals on finance, nuclear energy, aviation, manufacturing and new energy. Moving forward, MOFCOM will work with related French departments to conscientiously implement the important consensus of our heads of state and push bilateral economic and trade cooperation to a new high. Thank you.

Shenzhen Satellite TV: Recently, the US announced sanctions on nearly 300 entities and individuals for suspected support for Russian defence and energy development, including 20 companies in Chinese mainland and Hong Kong SAR. What is MOFCOM’s comment?

He Yadong: China opposes unilateral sanctions unjustified by international law or UN Security Council mandate. While maintaining trade with Russia in US interests, the US sanctions Chinese companies on Russia-related grounds. This is a typical act of unilateral bullying and economic coercion, which we are strongly against. The US should immediately stop the irrational suppression of Chinese companies. China will take necessary measures to firmly protect the rights and interests of Chinese companies. Thank you.

MNI: Recently, the fifth meeting of chief negotiators of the working group on China’s accession to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) was held in Auckland, New Zealand. Is there any update on China joining DEPA and what is China’s expectation?

He Yadong: China filed a formal application to join DEPA on November 1, 2021. On August 18, 2022, the DEPA Joint Committee decided to establish an Accession Working Group (AWG) and fully commence the negotiations on China’s accession to DEPA. Up to now, China has held several rounds of consultations with DEPA members at various levels with positive progress being made.

On May 7, the fifth meeting of chief negotiators of the AWG took place in Auckland, New Zealand. China had an in-depth exchange of views with Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, and the ROK on the negotiations and related issues. China will work with DEPA members to push for continuous progress in the negotiations. Thank you.

CNBC: I have two questions. First, how is China’s domestic consumption doing during the May Day holiday? What are the highlights? What is your outlook for travel-related spending this year? Second, a few days before the May Day holiday, the Ministry of Commerce issued a subsidy policy for replacing old cars with new ones. What are the considerations of this policy?

He Yadong: On your first question, during the May Day holiday this year, competent commerce departments at all levels have firmly promoted the trade-ins of consumer goods, innovated consumption scenarios and enriched the supply of consumer goods to better meet consumers’ demand. During the holiday, the consumer market is booming with various highlights, showing the following three characteristics.

First, the consumer market is full of vitality. According to the monitoring of the commerce big data platform, during the holiday, the sales of key retail and catering enterprises in the country increased by 6.8% over the same period last year (April 29 - May 3, 2023). Business districts around the country enjoyed strong popularity, and the footfall in key business districts of 36 large and medium-sized cities increased by 15.1% year-on-year. Online consumption grew rapidly, with online retail sales of physical goods growing by 15.8% year-on-year.

Second, trade-ins are in demand. Various localities have actively organized and carried out a series of trade-in activities and stimulated consumers’ enthusiasm for replacing old goods with new ones through various means such as government subsidies, corporate concessions, and credit support. During the holiday, the sales of automobiles, household appliances and furniture of major retail enterprises increased by 4.8%, 7.9% and 4.6%, respectively.

Third, spending on service is booming. During the holiday, the sales of major catering enterprises increased by 7.1%, and the sales of accommodation on some e-commerce platforms increased by 6%. The tourism market has been booming, with the number of domestic trips up by 7.6% year-on-year and the total spending on travelling up by 12.7%. The box office during the May Day holiday raked in 1.527 billion yuan, up from the same period last year.

On your second question: On April 24, seven departments including MOFCOM and the Ministry of Finance jointly published the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of Subsidies for Automobile Trade-In, which makes it clear that between the date of release of the document and the end of 2024, a one-off, fixed-amount allowance will be available to individual consumers who scrap qualified used vehicles and buy qualified new energy vehicles or energy-saving automobiles. The Detailed Rules has, since its release, enjoyed wide attention and positive reception, and many places have introduced local measures to implement it.

In the process of policy design and implementation, we have focused on the following:

First, coordination and balance. We promote upgrading through both scrapping and replacement. The central government gives priority to scrapping, while encouraging regions with the right conditions to carry out replacement programs. In terms of policy design, we treat Chinese and foreign brands as equals, just as we do for local brands and non-local ones, and both new energy vehicles and ICE vehicles are entitled to the preference.

Second, a package solution. The policy involves all stages of automobile consumption. Consumers will benefit even more, as they can enjoy a policy combo together with other preferences, such as new energy vehicle purchase tax reduction and exemption, financial and credit support for car purchases, and benefits offered by car brands.

Third, ease and efficiency. We have built a nationwide, unified automobile trade-in information platform and launched mini-app on WeChat, Alipay, Douyin and UnionPay, so that consumers can apply for the scrapping allowance much easier and truly enjoy the benefits. Thank you.

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