Kyodo News:

China shows a trend of excessive trade surplus again, raising concerns in some countries. What are the reasons for such excessive surpluses? Any comment on the concerns of these countries? Thank you.

Wang Lingjun:

Thank you for your questions. China never intentionally pursues a trade surplus. The recent growth in our goods trade surplus results from the improved competitiveness of Chinese industries, resilient exports, and lower import values due to declining global commodity prices. Our perspective on trade surpluses is as follows:

First, when evaluating a trade surplus, it's important to consider not only the absolute scale but also the relative proportion of the surplus to GDP. Vertically, our current ratio is below China's historical peak. Horizontally, it's also lower than that of some major global economies.

Second, evaluating a country's trade balance requires examining both the goods and services trade, as well as trade statistics and international balance of payments data. According to the latest balance of payments data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, our current account surplus is 1.1% of GDP, remaining within a reasonable and balanced range.

Additionally, I'd like to point out that it's perplexing how some countries criticize China's trade surplus while simultaneously imposing stricter regulatory measures to limit their exports to us. Thank you!