He Yongqian: Friends from the press, good afternoon. Welcome to the regular press conference of the Ministry of Commerce. I have no briefing to make today.

Please raise your questions.

The Cover: Recently, the Australian government announced that China had lifted restrictions on the import of Australian lobsters, removing the "last barrier to trade" between the two countries. Some people believe that this reflects stabilizing relations between China and Australia. What is the comment of MOFCOM? How do you view the prospect of China-Australia economic and trade relations?

He Yongqian: As far as I know, the authorities of China and Australia have conducted in-depth and effective technical communication on the import of lobsters to China. After evaluating the corrective measures provided by Australia, China has resumed the regular port inspection and quarantine of relevant products in accordance with laws and regulations. Since last year, the two sides have engaged in effective consultations on trade and economic concerns based on WTO rules. We hope Australia will meet us halfway and properly address the issues under the WTO framework.

With highly complementary economies, China and Australia should engage in win-win trade and economic cooperation to meet the shared interests of the two countries. We hope the two sides can continue to expand commercial cooperation in traditional and emerging areas, and advance high-quality trade and economic ties that can benefit the two peoples. Thank you.

ComNews: The conference on advancing pilots of domestic and foreign trade integration has been held recently. Could you please share with us what MOFCOM has done to promote domestic and foreign trade integration?

He Yongqian: Accelerating the integration of domestic and foreign trade is crucial for building a new development paradigm and promoting high-quality development. This year, in implementing the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, MOFCOM has focused on four aspects: First, aligning domestic and foreign trade rules and systems. Under the inter-ministerial working mechanism to promote domestic and foreign trade integration, we worked with relevant departments to draft specific measures to align standards and certification and optimizing the development environment, which breaks down into 95 key tasks. For example, we have made active efforts to adapt advanced and applicable international standards. To date, the conversion rate has exceeded 83%. Second, we advanced the pilot programs for domestic and foreign trade integration. The nine pilot areas took the lead and completed 80% of the tasks, gaining a number of best practices and producing ten typical cases to be replicated and promoted across the country. Third, we carried out tours for quality foreign trade goods, organizing more than 30 match-making events to bring high-quality foreign trade products into supermarkets, business areas, and e-commerce platforms. This not only helped to expand the sales channels of foreign trade products at home, but also provided more high-quality goods for domestic consumers. Fourth, we have reinforced policy support. We published the Opinions on Leveraging the Role of Domestic Trade Credit Insurance in Domestic and Foreign Trade Integration, providing stronger guarantee for foreign trade enterprises selling to the domestic market.

Going forward, MOFCOM will conscientiously implement the principles of the 3^rd Plenum of the 20^th CPC Central Committee and the important directions of General Secretary Xi Jinping. We will speed up reform to promote domestic and foreign trade integration, eliminate the bottlenecks and choke points, improve development environment, so that businesses can switch smoothly between the domestic and international markets.

China News Service: MOFCOM issued a notice on December 25, extending the investigation period of the anti-dumping case against brandy to April 5, 2025. What are your considerations?

He Yongqian : At the request of China’s brandy industry, the Ministry of Commerce launched an anti-dumping investigation in January 2024 on the import of related brandy products originating from the EU. After initiating the case, the Chinese investigator carried out the investigation in strict accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of China and the WTO rules, and made a preliminary ruling in August 2024. At present, EU exporters have submitted price undertaking applications, and the domestic brandy industry has requested protection in accordance with law. In view of the complexity of the case, the investigator decided to postpone the final ruling upon request of the EU, in the hope that all stakeholders will continue to cooperate with the investigation. Thank you.

He Yongqian: New Year is around the corner. This is the end of the last regular press conference in 2024. Thank you for your strong support for our work in the past year. I wish you a happy New Year and all the best.