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Speakers:

Mr. Wang Wentao, minister of commerce

Mr. Wang Shouwen, China international trade representative and vice minister of commerce

Mr. Chen Chunjiang, assistant minister of commerce

Chairperson:

Ms. Xing Huina, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO

Date:

March 2, 2023

Xing Huina:

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to the press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). Today, we are holding the eighth press conference in the series "Embarking on the New Journey — A Government Perspective." We have invited Mr. Wang Wentao, minister of commerce; Mr. Wang Shouwen, China international trade representative and vice minister of commerce; and Mr. Chen Chunjiang, assistant minister of commerce, to brief you on building up confidence, making great efforts and taking new steps for the high-quality development of commerce, and to take your questions.

Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. Wang Wentao for a brief introduction.

Wang Wentao:

Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, it's my great pleasure to meet with you here again. First of all, on behalf of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your long-term interest in as well as support and help for China's commerce development.

In the past year, 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 requirements for keeping the epidemic at bay, stabilizing the economy and ensuring safe development, coordinated epidemic prevention and control with commercial development, and pursued steady progress in commercial operations, which exceeded expectations. The consumer market remained basically stable; foreign trade and investment reached another record high, and has become a highlight of the national economy; outbound investment grew steadily, and new steps were taken in the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); and breakthroughs were made in bilateral economic and trade cooperation, with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement entering into force and the work team for China's accession to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) being formally established.

The 20th CPC National Congress drew up a grand blueprint for comprehensively building a modern socialist country, emphasizing that we will make sure that our implementation of the strategy to expand domestic demand is integrated with our efforts to deepen supply-side structural reform, and boost the dynamism and reliability of the domestic economy while engaging at a higher level in the global economy. Commerce development is an important component of the domestic economy, serves as an important intersection linking the domestic and global economy, and plays an important role in fostering a new development pattern. These are the "three important roles" that we proposed for commerce development. We will shoulder an important mission on advancing the path to Chinese modernization. We will bear in mind the country's most fundamental interests, never forget the mission, stick to the "three important roles," promote the high-quality development of commerce, better serve the fostering of a new development pattern, and make greater contributions on the new journey in the new era.

2023 is the first year in fully implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress. MOFCOM will follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, resolutely implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and the decisions of the Central Economic Work Conference, fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy, better balance both domestic and international situations, coordinate epidemic prevention and control with commercial development, and development with security, recover and expand consumption, keep foreign trade stable and improve its structure, make greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment, promote high-level opening up, and pursue effective improvement of quality and reasonable growth of quantity to help set the stage for building a modern socialist country in all respects.

Next, my colleagues, Mr. Wang Shouwen and Mr. Chen Chunjiang, and I will take your questions. Thank you.

Xing Huina:

The floor is now open for questions. Please identify the media outlet you represent before asking your questions.