China News Service, January 27 (China News reporter Xie Yiguan) Consumption, investment, and net exports are the "troika" that drive the growth of the national economy. What were the highlights of exports last year? What is the focus of promoting consumption this year? How will foreign investment work be promoted?
On January 26, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through advancement, and promoting high-quality business development to achieve new breakthroughs. Relevant officials from the Ministry of Commerce answered relevant topics one by one.
The picture shows the press conference scene.
Looking at foreign trade – there are still many bright spots
Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said that in the past 2023, the import and export of goods achieved positive growth in RMB based on a high base, and the international export market share was stable at around 14%. Automobile exports increased by more than 50%, and cross-border e-commerce exports increased by 19.6%, both of which have become new engines for foreign trade growth.
In addition, the foreign trade structure continues to be optimized, highlighted by two "first breakthroughs": First, the "three new items", namely new energy vehicles, photovoltaic products, and lithium batteries, exports exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the first time, an increase of nearly 30% . Second, the number of business entities with import and export performance exceeded 600,000 for the first time, reaching 645,000.
Talking about foreign trade work in 2024, Wang Wentao said that it is necessary to promptly introduce new policies, accelerate the cultivation of new momentum, help open up new markets, and release new import potential. "Building China's ultra-large-scale market into a large market shared by the world will continue to inject new momentum into national economic development and global economic recovery."
Foreign trade achieved positive growth last year, and cross-border e-commerce played an important role. "This year, we will continue to cultivate cross-border e-commerce, a new driving force for foreign trade." Wang Shouwen, international trade negotiator and deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce, pointed out that we must develop "cross-border e-commerce + industrial belts" and encourage traditional foreign trade companies to transform into cross-border e-commerce. , support leading enterprises to drive the coordinated development of upstream and downstream supply chains, and rely on cross-border e-commerce industrial parks in various places to incubate more start-ups.
The picture shows Wuzhou Comprehensive Bonded Zone in Guangxi. Photo by Rong Limei
Talking about consumption - there is a huge demand for the replacement of home appliances
Last year, the Ministry of Commerce held a series of activities focused on restoring and expanding consumption, which achieved remarkable results. Wang Wentao introduced that in 2023, the total retail sales of consumer goods will hit a record high, and the final contribution rate of consumer spending to economic growth will reach 82.5%.
This year, in terms of promoting consumption, in addition to successfully organizing a series of activities of the "Year of Consumption Promotion", promoting the consumption of "trendy" domestic products, and continuing to optimize the consumption environment, he mentioned that one focus is to promote the replacement of old cars, home appliances, etc.
"We have made some statistics and found that my country's automobile and home appliance markets have moved from a pure 'incremental era' to an 'incremental and inventory equal emphasis era'." Wang Wentao said that in 2023, there will be about 340 million cars, refrigerators, and washing machines. There are more than 3 billion home appliances in major categories such as air conditioners and air conditioners. Some appliances have been used for more than ten or twenty years, so there is great demand and potential for replacement.
Wang Wentao said, “We will strengthen support and guidance, and use the improvement of technology, energy consumption, emission and other standards as a guide to break through the difficulties and blockages of replacing old ones with new ones, stabilize and expand traditional consumption, and better meet the needs of replacing and upgrading consumer goods. This will Everything will be carried out on the basis of respecting the wishes of consumers."
Data map photo by Zhang Lang
Talking about foreign investment - still a hot spot for foreign investment
"In terms of two-way investment, the actual scale of foreign capital used is the third highest in history" and "the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises increased by 39.7%"... At the meeting, Wang Wentao listed a series of achievements.
Regarding the issue of "the scale of China's foreign investment attraction has declined in 2023", he also mentioned that there are some fluctuations in short-term foreign investment data, which is a normal phenomenon in line with economic laws, especially the implementation of some large projects, which often affects the current year and the Fluctuations next year and the year after.
"The fundamentals of China's long-term economic growth have not changed. In particular, China adheres to the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world. It has always opened its arms and sincerely welcomes companies from all over the world to invest in China. We firmly believe that China will continue to become a hot spot for foreign investment." Wang Wentao emphasized. .
He also said that based on last year's "Invest in China Year", this year he will continue to build the "Invest in China" brand, and will continue to implement the "24 Foreign Investment Rules" introduced last year, promote the relaxation of foreign investment access, and continue to optimize the foreign investment environment. Make good use of the foreign-funded enterprise roundtable and the foreign-invested enterprise problem and complaint collection and management system. (over)