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E-mail China.org.cn, February 20, 2025
Speakers:
Ms. Li Yongjie, deputy China international trade representative
Mr. Li Gang, director general of the Department of Market Operation and Consumption Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)
Mr. Meng Yue, deputy director general of the Department of Foreign Trade of MOFCOM
Chairperson:
Ms. Xing Huina, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO
Date:
Jan. 15, 2025
Xing Huina:
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO), as part of the series "High-Quality Development Achievements of China's Economy." Today, we have invited Ms. Li Yongjie, deputy China international trade representative, to brief you on the situation of commerce work serving high-quality development and answer your questions. Also attending today's press conference are: Mr. Li Gang, director general of the Department of Market Operation and Consumption Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM); and Mr. Meng Yue, deputy director general of the Department of Foreign Trade of MOFCOM.
Now, I'll give the floor to Ms. Li Yongjie for her introduction.
Li Yongjie:
Thank you. Good afternoon. First, thank you very much for your interest in and support for our commerce work. I am very pleased that my colleagues and I have the opportunity to meet with you today to discuss the development of our commerce work. Let me start by first discussing a few points.
In the recently concluded year of 2024, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, MOFCOM resolutely implemented the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, promoting high-quality development of commerce. Throughout the year, the overall operation of commerce remained stable and made steady progress, making a positive contribution to the recovery and improvement of the economy. Our achievements this year are mainly reflected in the following aspects:
First, domestic consumption grew steadily. Total retail sales of consumer goods in the first 11 months reached 44.3 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.5%. In terms of product consumption, well-known policies such as trade-in programs have driven sales of automobiles, home appliances, home renovations, and kitchen and bathroom products to exceed 1.3 trillion yuan. Among them, green and smart products are highly favored, especially new energy vehicles, first-class energy-efficient home appliances, smart home products, and so on. In terms of services, with the continuous emergence of new scenarios and new norms in consumption of services, the potential of consumption of services has been constantly released. In the first 11 months, retail sales of consumption of services increased by 6.4%, with information and entertainment consumption being particularly active.
Second, foreign trade reached a new high. The total value of imports and exports for the year was 43.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 5%, reaching a record high. Exports and imports grew by 7.1% and 2.3%, respectively. In the first 11 months, service imports and exports reached 6.7 trillion yuan, an increase of 14.2%. Total service imports and exports for the year are also expected to reach a record high. For example, with the active promotion of visa policies, the popularity of tourism to China continues to rise. According to statistics, travel service exports have increased by 1.5 times.
Third, the structure of investment attraction continued to improve. In the first 11 months, 52,000 new foreign-funded enterprises were established, attracting 749.7 billion yuan in foreign investment. We are continuously relaxing market access, with entry restrictions in the manufacturing sector fully lifted. High-tech manufacturing investment accounts for 11%. Pilot programs to open up service sectors such as telecommunications and health care are also being actively promoted, with many projects already in the negotiation and implementation stages.
Fourth, foreign investment and cooperation steadily progressed. In the first 11 months, non-financial outbound direct investment reached 915.2 billion yuan, an increase of 12.4%. The value of newly signed contracts for overseas contracted projects reached 1.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 13%. High-quality economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been steadily advancing, with notable highlights emerging in areas such as green, digital and blue economy collaboration.
Fifth, fruitful achievements have been made in multilateral and bilateral economic and trade cooperation. In terms of multilateral efforts, we promoted the WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference to achieve practical results of "1+10." In 2024, we also reached agreements on investment and trade facilitation and e-commerce. Additionally, mechanisms such as the G20, BRICS, APEC and SCO also reached multiple economic and trade consensuses. In 2024, we continued to expand our "circle of friends" of free trade partners. Now, the trade proportion with free trade partners has exceeded one-third. For example, last year we substantially concluded the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) negotiations, signed a protocol to upgrade the bilateral free trade agreement with Peru, and promoted the implementation of free trade agreements or upgrade agreements with countries such as Serbia, the Maldives and Singapore. We also signed framework agreements on economic partnership for shared development with 23 African countries.
The period covered by the 14th Five-Year Plan will come to an end in 2025. We will thoroughly implement the deployments of the Central Economic Work Conference, focusing on stabilizing foreign trade and foreign investment, expanding consumption and high-level opening up to the outside world. With the real results of high-quality business development, we will make new contributions to the continuous recovery and improvement of the economy.
That is all for my introduction. My colleagues and I are now willing to answer your questions. Thank you.
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