N Video from Nanfang Metropolis Daily:

May I ask about the trade between China and countries along the Belt and Road in the first half of this year? How do you view the prospects of China's future trade with the Belt and Road countries? What work has the Chinese customs done recently to promote trade cooperation along the Belt and Road? Thank you.

Lyu Daliang:

Thank you for your questions. In the second half of this year, the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be held, and there is great interest in topics related to the BRI. Over the past decade since the initiative was proposed, China's imports and exports with countries along the Belt and Road have increased from 6.46 trillion yuan in 2013 to 13.76 trillion yuan in 2022, a cumulative growth of 1.1 times. This year, we have continued to experience rapid growth, with China's imports and exports with Belt and Road countries reaching 6.89 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 9.8%, surpassing the overall growth rate of the country's foreign trade by 7.7 percentage points. The main characteristics are as follows:

First, industrial cooperation is closer. In the first half of the year, China's exports of intermediate products to Belt and Road countries increased, such as by 39.3% for automotive components, 34.3% for lithium batteries, and 28.9% for automatic data processing equipment accessories. During the same period, imports of energy products and agricultural products from Belt and Road countries also increased by 5.7% and 17.9%, respectively.

Second, the impact of connectivity is significant. In recent years, efforts have been made to enhance connectivity through initiatives such as the China-Europe Railway Express, new land-sea transit routes for the western region, and the China-Laos railway. The level of connectivity between China and Belt and Road countries has improved significantly. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports with Belt and Road countries via railway transportation increased by 23.8%, surpassing the overall growth rate of imports and exports with Belt and Road countries by 14 percentage points. This double-digit growth has been sustained for 12 consecutive months. Imports and exports with Belt and Road countries via road transportation increased by 63.6%, outperforming the overall growth rate by 53.8 percentage points. The growth rate has exceeded 30% for five consecutive months.

Third, the performance of the central and western regions is even more impressive. In the first half of the year, the import and export growth between the central and western regions and countries along the Belt and Road increased by 23.2%, accounting for 21.2% of the total import and export value between China and countries along the Belt and Road during the same period. This marks a 2.3 percentage points increase compared to the previous year. Among them, the three autonomous regions of Guangxi, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia have all experienced import and export growth rates exceeding 50% with countries along the Belt and Road.

The Chinese customs have thoroughly studied and implemented the principles outlined in the important speeches of General Secretary Xi Jinping, with a key focus on providing services for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and vigorously promoting its implementation. This year, the following work has been actively carried out: The first aspect is the active promotion of the import of high-quality agricultural food products. In the first half of the year, 44 customs inspection and quarantine cooperation documents were signed with countries involved in the BRI, including 30 agreements on access to agricultural food products. The second aspect is the continued enhancement of trade facilitation cooperation. A memoranda of understanding on single-window document processing for international trade cooperation was signed with Iranian customs, while arrangements for Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) mutual recognition were signed with the Philippines, Costa Rica, and Uzbekistan. The third aspect is strengthening the hardware and software capabilities of ports, optimizing the information sharing and exchange platform for customs along the Belt and Road, and ensuring the stable operation of the Customs-Train Operators Partnership for Secure and Expedited Clearance of CR Express Carried Goods (C-TOP) between China and Kazakhstan. The fourth aspect is active participation in the preparations for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the thematic forum on trade connectivity.

Next, the customs will continue to upgrade and develop multilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms with countries involved in the BRI. We will vigorously promote cooperation in areas such as trade security and facilitation, inspection and quarantine. The Chinese customs will make new contributions to broadening the Belt and Road as a "path of happiness" benefiting the whole world. Thank you.