Ministry of Commerce: Introduce incremental policy measures around intermediate goods trade, supply chain cooperation, finance and taxation, etc

On the afternoon of March 6th, the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress held an economic themed press conference, answering questions from Chinese and foreign journalists on issues related to development and reform, fiscal budget, commerce, finance and securities. Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao stated at the meeting that in the first two months of this year, China's foreign trade generally continued the characteristics and trend of last year, but the external environment facing the development of foreign trade is still complex and severe, and the pressure to stabilize foreign trade is still considerable.

Wang Wentao introduced that this year, we will focus on building the "three pillars" of a strong trading country - goods trade, service trade, and digital trade, strengthen the four "overall planning", and make every effort to stabilize the basic situation of foreign trade.

One is to coordinate efforts to promote stability and improve quality, and optimize policy support and guidance. Focusing on emerging new situations and problems, we will take the initiative to research and introduce incremental policy measures in areas such as intermediate goods trade, supply chain cooperation, finance and taxation, and development environment. We will also focus on new fields and formats, accelerate the development of digital trade and green trade, promote the export of artificial intelligence products, green electrical equipment, and other products, and strengthen the cultivation of new foreign trade drivers.

The second is to coordinate emerging and traditional markets, consolidate and expand diversified markets. In 2025, China's exports to the United States will decrease by 19.5%, but in RMB terms, the overall export growth will be 6.1%. This "one decrease and one increase" is the result of China's diversified foreign trade layout. Currently, the global economic and trade landscape is accelerating its restructuring, and the international market layout is undergoing profound adjustments. China will actively adapt to new situations and changes, strengthen country specific guidance, promote integrated development of trade and investment, increase support for enterprises to participate in overseas exhibitions, hold key exhibitions such as the Canton Fair, sign more free trade agreements, expand the "friend circle" of free trade, and help enterprises better connect with the market.

The third is to coordinate imports and exports and promote balanced trade development. Last year, the trade surplus was nearly 1.2 trillion US dollars. Export and import are like two wheels of a car, the more balanced these two wheels are, the smoother and farther the vehicle travels. China is currently the world's second-largest economy and the second largest import market, with a growing middle-income group and great market potential. This market is actively open and will promote balanced trade development, mainly by combining import expansion with stable exports. Give full play to the advantages of a super large market, expand the import of agricultural products, high-quality consumer goods, advanced technology equipment, and key components, while also making good use of platforms such as the CIIE.

The fourth is to coordinate productive services and life services, and vigorously develop service trade. In recent years, China's service trade has developed rapidly, with a growth rate of 7.4% by 2025, which is 3.6 percentage points higher than that of goods trade. It is an important engine for the future development of foreign trade. The Ministry of Commerce will expand the export of productive services such as research and development, design, testing, and maintenance to accompany the "Made in China" initiative to go global; Accompanied by "Chinese investment" going global, it drives the coordinated export of professional services such as finance, law, and consulting. Implement the requirements mentioned in the government work report to cultivate the "China Service" brand. Make good use of policies such as visa free access, expand the export of travel services, tap into the export potential of cultural, traditional Chinese medicine, catering and other services, promote the import of high-quality lifestyle services such as medical and health care, and cultivate more new growth points for foreign trade.