Over the past three years, changes in the world have evolved at a faster pace, the once-in-a-century pandemic has had far-reaching effects, and the international economic and trade environment has been turbulent. Facing the complicated and severe development environment, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, all local governments, departments and foreign trade enterprises have met obstacles and difficulties head on and made concerted efforts. China's foreign trade has withstood the test of major risks and shown strong resilience and vitality. China's total imports and exports exceeded USD5 trillion and USD6 trillion consecutively in 2021, and are expected to attain new heights in 2022.

At present, the greatest pressure on the stable growth of foreign trade comes from rising global economic recession risks and continuous slowdown in external demand. Some sectors are facing weak demand and sluggish orders. Recently, many localities actively organized foreign trade companies to go global and bring overseas businesses in. The implementation of a host of trade promotion measures has greatly boosted foreign trade companies’ access to and confidence in markets and orders. Companies are travelling in groups on charter flights to attend fairs, visit customers, and explore cooperation, embracing overseas markets and invigorating the foreign trade circle as the new year unfolds. Companies monitored by MOFCOM are showing positive signals. Especially, major exporting provinces are reporting improving orders.

At the same time, it remains a daunting task to stabilize trade and improve its quality. MOFCOM will continue to watch closely and strengthen support for stable trade volume and optimized trade mix. The focus will be on the following areas.

First, we will stabilize foreign trade orders. Overseas commercial counselor’s sections and offices will be leveraged to promote trade and support foreign trade companies in attending overseas fairs and business matchmaking. We will encourage micro, small and medium enterprises to attend overseas fairs in various ways, stage successful key expos like the Canton Fair and work harder to attract overseas purchasers. We will guide companies to make full and good use of export credit insurance so that they are more confident in taking up orders.

Second, we will secure foreign trade entities. We will work with localities and relevant authorities to guide companies to make use of generally preferential policies, such as inclusive finance and pro-employment measures. The role of financial institutions will be tapped into to strengthen credit support for foreign trade companies, especially MSMEs.

Third, we will help businesses solve difficulties. Related working mechanisms to stabilize foreign trade will be fully leveraged to follow and resolve the difficulties facing enterprises and create a more favorable environment for business development. Thank you.