Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation, Sino-US trade... The Ministry of Commerce issued a press conference to respond to these hot issues

On February 10, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference. At the meeting, the reporter asked questions on Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation, the trade deficit in services, Sino-US trade and other economic and trade hotspot issues, and The spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, Gao Feng, responded to the above issues.

It is hoped that the US side will cancel the tariffs and sanctions and suppression measures imposed on China as soon as possible

Gao Feng said that the sino-US phase one agreement is beneficial to China and the United States and the whole world. Since the agreement came into effect, China has worked hard to overcome the multiple adverse effects caused by the impact of the epidemic, the global economic recession and the obstruction of the supply chain, and promoted the joint implementation of the two sides. It is hoped that the US side will cancel the tariffs and sanctions and suppression measures imposed on China as soon as possible to create a good atmosphere and conditions for the two sides to expand trade cooperation.

The level and mode of subsidies on the Chinese side are in line with WTO rules

Gao Feng introduced that since China's accession to the WTO, it has conscientiously fulfilled its commitments to join the WTO, abided by the obligations of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and completely abolished the prohibited subsidies under the agreement. For other subsidies allowed by WTO rules, China's subsidy level and method are in line with WTO rules. There is a view that the success of China's economy is mainly due to government intervention. China opposes such a view. The facts of the past 40 years and more show that the success of China's economy is the success of the reform and opening up policy, and it is also the success of giving play to the role of the market mechanism and the effective combination of the role of the government. China's reform and opening up is beneficial to China and the world, not only promoting China's economic development, but also making important contributions to the prosperity of the world economy.

In addition, regarding the current progress of the communication dialogue between the Sino-US economic and trade teams, Gao Feng introduced that at present, the economic and trade teams of the two sides maintain normal communication.

Promoting China-Russia Pragmatic Cooperation in Various Fields "Going Hand in Hand"

Gao Feng introduced that recently, the Ministry of Commerce and the Russian Ministry of Economic Development signed two cooperation documents.

The first is the Joint Statement on Completing the Formulation of the Roadmap for the High-quality Development of Sino-Russian Trade in Goods and Trade in Services. Led by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the Roadmap, together with a number of government departments, localities and agencies of the two countries, has made a path to achieve the $200 billion trade target set by the two heads of state. In terms of content, the Roadmap covers more than 200 cooperation measures and projects in more than 20 fields such as oil and gas, chemical industry, mechanical and electrical, agriculture and forestry, high and new technologies, as well as transportation customs clearance, financial services, trade and investment facilitation, intellectual property rights, and inter-local cooperation, which will provide assistance and guarantee for promoting the high-quality development of Sino-Russian trade.

The second is the Memorandum of Understanding on Promoting Investment Cooperation in the Field of Sustainable (Green) Development. The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia will take the lead in working with relevant parties of the two countries to jointly promote investment cooperation in the field of green development. The two sides agreed to encourage enterprises of the two countries to carry out investment cooperation in low-carbon energy and green infrastructure, actively promote green technology innovation, and work together to create new growth points for green and low-carbon cooperation between the two countries.

In addition, the relevant departments and enterprises of the two sides have also signed cooperation agreements in the fields of oil, gas, satellite navigation, and information technology, so as to promote new progress in energy trade and cooperation in key projects between the two countries. In the field of agriculture, the two sides signed the documents on cooperation in the inspection and quarantine of Russian barley, wheat and alfalfa grass exported to China, creating conditions for expanding trade in agricultural products between the two countries. The two sides also signed an "accredited operator" mutual recognition arrangement, which will further enhance the level of trade facilitation between the two countries.

Gao Feng said that in the next step, China will work with Russia to implement the "Roadmap for the High-quality Development of Trade in Goods and Services between China and Russia", deepen investment cooperation in the field of green development, promote bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various fields such as economy and trade, energy, agriculture, science and technology, aerospace, connectivity, and finance, and steadily move towards the $200 billion trade target set by the two heads of state.

The study promotes the introduction of a number of new policies and measures, and vigorously promotes the high-quality development of digital trade, technology trade and foreign cultural trade

Gao Feng said that this year, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to promote the reform, opening up and innovation of trade in services, focusing on the following aspects:

First, work with relevant departments to solidly promote the implementation of the "14th Five-Year Plan" Service Trade Development Plan and implement various tasks and measures.

The second is to study and promote the introduction of a number of new policies and measures, and vigorously promote the high-quality development of digital trade, technology trade and foreign cultural trade.

The third is to explore the institutional open path of trade in services and promote the introduction of a national negative list of cross-border trade in services.

The fourth is to continue to promote the implementation of various policy measures for the pilot project of innovative development of trade in services, and summarize and promote more institutional innovation results.

The fifth is to select areas with remarkable results in the pilot and upgrade and build a national service trade innovation and development demonstration zone. Vigorously develop digital trade, build a digital trade demonstration zone, and promote dual innovation in science and technology and system.

The sixth is to promote the upgrading and expansion of the quality of the special service export base, improve the base management system and promotion system, and implement various policies and measures to support the development of the base.

There were four main reasons for the sharp reduction in the trade deficit in services last year

Gao Gao said that in general, the main reasons for the sharp reduction in the service trade deficit last year include the following points:

First, the rapid growth of the mainland's service industry has laid a solid foundation for the coordinated development of service trade.

Second, the competitiveness of the mainland's knowledge-intensive service exports has been significantly improved.

Third, the export of transport services has grown rapidly. In 2021, the mainland's exports of transport services reached 820.55 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 110.2%, becoming the fastest growing export area among the twelve major areas of service trade. Transport and knowledge-intensive service exports together led to the rapid growth of service exports throughout the year, with a growth rate of 31.4%, higher than the growth rate of service imports by 26.6 percentage points, and promoted the service trade deficit to fall by 69.5% over the previous year.

Fourth, the travel service deficit has dropped significantly. Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the mainland's trade deficit in travel services has dropped sharply, from 1,494.16 billion yuan in 2019 to 643.04 billion yuan in 2021. This is an important reason for the sharp decline in the mainland's service trade deficit.

During the Spring Festival, the mainland consumer market ran smoothly, and ice and snow consumption heated up rapidly

Gao Feng said that during the Spring Festival this year, the mainland consumer market ran smoothly and improved its quality steadily.

First, the sales of quality goods are strong. Smart goods, flowers and green plants, organic food and other health categories, quality upgrade products have become the first choice for New Year goods.

Second, catering consumption is gradually picking up. The sales volume of prepared dishes on some takeaway platforms increased by more than 3 times year-on-year, and the catering transaction volume of some large e-commerce platforms increased by nearly 10% year-on-year.

Third, ice and snow consumption has heated up rapidly. The Beijing Winter Olympics have stimulated a boom in ice and snow consumption, the passenger flow of ice rinks, snow parks and ice and snow theme parks around the world has increased significantly, indoor ice hockey, skating, skiing and other sports have flourished, and niche activities such as ice climbing and snow rafting have gradually emerged.

Fourth, leisure consumption is favored. During the Spring Festival, outings, city tours, folk customs, and exhibitions have become hot spots for consumption.

Fifth, the price of daily necessities is abundant and stable. The supply of daily necessities markets in various places is generally sufficient, the variety is rich, and the prices are generally stable.