Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao Meets with Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Greenspan

On December 8th, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Greenspan in Beijing, and the two sides exchanged in-depth views on the global economic and trade situation, deepening pragmatic cooperation between the two sides, and other issues. Li Chenggang, the representative and deputy minister of international trade negotiations, attended.

Wang Wentao stated that in October of this year, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China approved the "15th Five Year Plan" proposal, which outlined a grand blueprint for China's development in the next five years, made special arrangements for expanding high-level opening up to the outside world, clearly proposed to maintain the multilateral trading system, and released a strong signal of sharing opportunities and common development with countries around the world. Currently, unilateralism and protectionism interfere with global economic development and undermine the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China firmly supports multilateralism and the international system with the United Nations at its core, and is willing to work with all parties, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, to jointly promote the construction and maintenance of a fair, just, open, inclusive, and win-win international economic order.

Wang Wentao stated that the Ministry of Commerce attaches great importance to its cooperation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and is willing to strengthen practical cooperation in various fields around the implementation of global governance initiatives, global development initiatives, and in conjunction with the recommendations of the 15th Five Year Plan. China has launched the "Export to China" initiative with the aim of promoting the export of high-quality products and services from more countries, especially developing countries, to China. I hope that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will actively support and jointly help countries in the global South enhance their trade capabilities and share the development opportunities of the Chinese market.

Greenspan stated that China's four major global initiatives are of great significance for adhering to the international system with the United Nations at its core. The current high tariff policy affects the stability and social development of fragile economies around the world. We appreciate China's implementation of zero tariffs on 100% tariff products from the least developed countries and African countries that have established diplomatic relations. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) acknowledges China's proposal in the 15th Five Year Plan to organically combine the development concept of "putting people at the center" with high-quality development. It is willing to strengthen practical cooperation with China in areas such as green minerals, service trade, and "export to China" capacity building, and jointly help developing countries accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.