ThePaper.cn:

At the first meeting of the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform this year, it was pointed out that supporting the development of the private economy is a consistent policy of the CPC Central Committee. Since the beginning of this year, the private economy has continued to serve as the main force in China's foreign trade. Could you please tell us about the major highlights of the private economy's imports and exports in the first half of the year? Thank you.

Lyu Daliang:

Thank you for your question. The private economy has always played an essential role in promoting China's economic development and social stability. It is characterized by the features represented by the term "Five-Six-Seven-Eight-Nine," which signifies its contributions of over 50% of tax revenue, over 60% of GDP, over 70% of technological innovation achievements, over 80% of urban employment opportunities, and over 90% of the total number of enterprises. Now, in terms of foreign trade, we can add another "Five" to this list. By 2022, the proportion of imports and exports contributed by private enterprises exceeded 50% of China's total. In the first half of this year, the share of imports and exports by private enterprises further increased to 52.7%, maintaining their position as the main force in foreign trade. Specifically, it demonstrates the following characteristics:

First, the number of enterprises and the scale of trade have shown steady growth, playing a significant role in stabilizing the overall situation. In the first half of the year, the number of private enterprises with import and export performance increased by 8.3% compared to the previous year, reaching 459,000, accounting for 85.1% of enterprises with import and export performance during the same period. Private enterprises have become a stabilizer for foreign trade, with their imports and exports totaling 10.59 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, an increase of 8.9%, driving China's foreign trade growth by 4.4 percentage points. Among the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, 25 of them witnessed growth in the import and export value of private enterprises.

Second, efforts in innovative development have significantly paid off, and high-quality exports have made outstanding contributions. In the first half of the year, private companies exported 1.24 trillion yuan's worth of high-tech products, representing a 5.4% increase. Their share in China's total exports of high-tech products increased by 5.7 percentage points, reaching 44.7%. During the same period, private companies were the primary driving force behind the export growth of China's electric manned vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells, with a total export value of 346.3 billion yuan, an increase of 64.6%. They contributed as much as 66.8% of China's total exports of these products. Additionally, the export value of private companies' proprietary brands reached 1.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.6%. Their share in China's total proprietary brands increased by 0.4 percentage points to reach 22.6%.

Third, the imports of essential livelihood products and resource products have grown rapidly, and efforts to ensure supply and stabilize prices have yielded substantial rewards. In the first half of the year, the import value of agricultural products by private companies increased by 21.9%, which was 5.7 percentage points higher than the growth rate of China's total imports of agricultural products; among them, the import value of grain and meat increased by 24.2% and 13.1%, respectively. During the same period, their import value of medicinal herbs and drugs increased by 24.8%, 4.2 percentage points higher than the growth rate of China's total imports of these products. Furthermore, their imports of metal ore and coal increased by 33.9% and 148.8%, respectively, 25.6 and 55.8 percentage points higher than the growth rate of China's total imports of the respective products.

So to speak, private companies have made great contributions to China's foreign trade in terms of scale, structure, and quality. Moving forward, the customs authority will thoroughly implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and General Secretary Xi Jinping's important remarks on the development of the private economy and work unswervingly both to consolidate and develop the public sector and to encourage, support, and guide development of the non-public sector. We will also implement the 16 measures to optimize the business environment to ensure their intended outcomes, offer targeted services to benefit companies and alleviate their difficulties, thereby stimulating the development potential of various business entities, including private companies. Thank you.