Shandian News:

Based on the data just released, China's trade with Belt and Road partner countries performed well in the first half of the year. Could you provide more details? Thank you.

Wang Lingjun:

Okay, thank you. Mr. Lyu will answer your question.

Lyu Daliang:

Thank you for your question. Since China proposed the eight major measures to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, joint efforts with participating countries have produced substantial cooperation outcomes. In the first half of this year, China's imports and exports with BRI partner countries reached 11.29 trillion yuan, up 4.7% year on year, accounting for 51.8% of total foreign trade. There were positive results in three key areas:

First, trade ties have grown closer. China has deepened cooperation with partner countries to build an open world economy. The latest international data shows that in the first four months of this year, trade among BRI partner countries accounted for half of their total trade value, a significant increase from 2013, the year the initiative was first proposed. In the first half of this year, China's exports of electronic components and electric engineering equipment with these countries grew rapidly, as did imports of parts, accessories and storage devices for automatic data processing equipment.

Second, development cooperation has deepened. China's implementation of a series of landmark projects and "small but beautiful" livelihood projects has strongly supported the economic and social development of partner countries. During the first half of the year, China's exports to partner countries of engineering machinery for infrastructure development, wind turbines promoting green development, and instruments that support technological innovation all maintained double-digit growth. In addition, China actively expanded imports from BRI partner countries. In the first half of the year, a total of 32 market access agreements were signed for agricultural and food products from partner countries. High-quality products such as Zambian macadamia nuts and fresh bananas from Colombia were approved for import to China.

Third, connectivity has become more comprehensive. In recent years, the Silk Road Maritime network, Air Silk Road and cross-border highways have developed more rapidly. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports with partner countries via waterways, aviation and highways increased 4.3%, 9% and 16.4%, respectively. Cross-border rail transport, including the China-Europe Railway Express and the China-Laos Railway, has also continued to gain momentum. Customs authorities have optimized supervision of rail shipments, further improving cross-border clearance efficiency. In ancient times, caravans departing from Chang'an took years to transport Chinese tea and silk to Europe. Now, the Chang'an China-Europe freight trains departing from Xi'an can connect Eurasia across mountains and seas in about 10 days, enabling quality goods from various countries to flow in both directions. In the first half of the year, fresh and dried fruits, edible oil, cosmetics and other goods shipped by rail between China and BRI partner countries showed rapid growth.

Moving forward, customs will continue to leverage its functions, implement the eight major measures for supporting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and deepen collaboration with partner countries in areas such as port management, supply chain connectivity, and agricultural and food product market access. These efforts will promote trade development and ensure safe, smooth trade flows. This will contribute customs expertise to advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Thank you.