On the afternoon of April 8, Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min briefed the media and answered questions on U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen’s visit to China. The transcript of the briefing is as follows:
1. Introduction
good afternoon everyone. Welcome to today's briefing. In order to implement the important consensus reached at the meeting and phone call between President Xi Jinping and President Biden, as agreed by China and the United States, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen will visit China from April 4 to 9. Treasury Secretary Yellen is the first U.S. person to visit China this year. Cabinet member. During this period, China held multi-level and multi-field talks and exchanges with Treasury Secretary Yellen. Let me introduce the relevant situation to you below.
On April 7, Li Qiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, met with Treasury Secretary Yellen in Beijing to have an in-depth exchange of views on Sino-US relations, Sino-US economic relations, and response to global challenges. From April 5th to 6th, He Lifeng, leader of the Sino-U.S. economic and trade parties, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and Vice Premier of the State Council, held several rounds of talks with Treasury Secretary Yellen in Guangzhou to discuss the two countries and the global macroeconomic situation and respond to global challenges. They conducted in-depth, candid, pragmatic and constructive communication on matters of concern to both parties in the economic field. From April 7 to 8, Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo'an and People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng held separate talks with Treasury Secretary Yellen in Beijing to exchange views on the macroeconomic situation and fiscal and financial affairs of the two countries. During her stay in China, Yellen also met with some Chinese political and academic figures. Here, I would like to focus on the talks between Vice Premier He Lifeng and Treasury Secretary Yellen, the leaders of both parties. Details are as follows:
During the talks, the Chinese side emphasized that the "Vision of San Francisco" should be transformed into a "real scene" through hard work in accordance with the three principles of "peace is most important, stability is the most important, and trust is the basis" proposed by President Xi Jinping in China-US relations. ". Both sides agreed to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, continue to strengthen communication and cooperation in the economic and financial fields, strive to create a good environment for two-way trade and investment activities between enterprises of the two countries, and promote the healthy and stable development of Sino-US economic relations.
Regarding the macroeconomic situation. China focused on introducing China's economic situation and policies to the United States. China pointed out that China's economy maintains healthy and sustainable growth. Last year, China's economy continued to maintain an overall upward momentum, with major expected targets successfully achieved. Its economic growth rate ranked among the best among the world's major economies, and it remains the largest engine of global economic growth. These achievements were achieved on the basis of preventing and resolving hidden risks and promoting economic transformation and upgrading. This year, China's economy will continue to maintain a positive momentum of recovery and is confident that it will achieve its full-year growth target. China emphasizes that reform and opening up is China's national policy. China's reform and opening up will not stop. It is planning and implementing a series of major measures to comprehensively deepen reform, vigorously break through the obstacles that hinder the construction of a new development pattern, and insist on deepening the supply side. Structural reforms and efforts to expand effective demand will work together to accelerate the construction of a unified domestic market and continue to build a market-oriented, legal and international first-class business environment, which will provide companies from all over the world, including U.S. companies, with broader development space. . During the talks, the U.S. side introduced the U.S. macroeconomic situation, including the labor market, inflation, financial system, and fiscal and monetary policies.
On addressing global challenges. The two sides exchanged in-depth views on global challenges such as debt management of developing countries, World Bank reform, International Monetary Fund governance reform, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing, and agreed to continue to maintain communication and cooperation on relevant issues through multilateral channels.
Regarding the concerns of both parties. Both sides believe that every country has reasonable needs to safeguard national security, but China emphasizes that the concept of "national security" should not be generalized and use so-called "diversification" as an excuse to impact normal trade and investment exchanges and production and supply chains between the two countries and the world. Stablize. China has clearly expressed its serious concerns about the U.S. sanctions and restrictions on Chinese companies, additional tariffs on China, and investment restrictions in China, pointing out that these measures harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and people, and are also detrimental to the well-being of U.S. companies and people. China welcomes the US's statement that it has no intention of seeking decoupling from China, and hopes that the US will take concrete actions to stop sanctions and restrictions on Chinese companies. In response to the overcapacity and other issues raised by the United States, China has fully responded.
Regarding consensus results. The two sides reiterated the three-point consensus reached at the San Francisco talks in November on "strengthening communication," "preventing decoupling," and "responding to common challenges," and reached the following new consensus results: First, led by the two countries' ministries of finance, the Sino-U.S. economic work Under the framework of the group, exchanges were held on issues of balanced economic growth between the two countries and the world. Second, the People's Bank of China and the U.S. Department of the Treasury will take the lead and continue to conduct exchanges on financial stability, sustainable finance, anti-money laundering and other issues under the framework of the Financial Working Group.
Regarding the next steps. Following the instructions of the leaders of both parties, the working groups of both parties will continue to promote the implementation of the above consensus under the economic and financial working groups. The fourth meetings of the two working groups are planned to be held separately during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, USA, in mid-April.
The above is the main information I want to report today. Here, I would like to answer your questions.
2. Media questions
Xinhua News Agency reporter: We have noticed that China and the United States have achieved important results in the economic and financial fields this time. I would like to ask what specific considerations the two parties have?
Answer: Thank you for your question. China and the United States are the world's top two economies. Deepening economic and financial policy communication, coordination and mutually beneficial cooperation is of great significance to maintaining economic and financial stability of the two countries and the world and promoting post-epidemic economic recovery and development. China has always maintained an open and positive attitude towards this , this time after in-depth consultations and discussions between China and the United States, important consensus was finally reached in the economic and financial fields.
In the economic field, under bilateral channels: Both sides agreed to conduct in-depth discussions on the issue of balanced economic growth between the two countries and the global economy, which is also in line with China's policy goals and practices of economic transformation and high-quality development. The economies of China and the United States are highly complementary, and the essence of economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win. The two sides are willing to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the economic field, which is of great significance to stabilizing bilateral economic relations and improving the well-being of enterprises and people in both countries. Under multilateral channels: The current global economy continues to be characterized by high debt, high inflation, high interest rates, and low growth, with emerging markets and developing countries suffering greater spillover effects. As the world's top two economies, China and the United States have agreed to continue to communicate through multilateral channels such as the G20 on issues such as debt management of developing countries and the reform of international financial institutions, and to strengthen cooperation in jointly addressing global challenges.
In the financial field, the two sides agreed to continue exchanges and cooperation on issues such as financial stability, sustainable finance, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing. In-depth exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States on the above-mentioned issues through multilateral channels such as the Financial Working Group and the G20 will help release a positive signal of Sino-US cooperation in responding to global challenges, and will have important practical implications for maintaining global financial stability and promoting green transformation and development. significance.
In the next step, China is willing to work with the United States under the Economic and Financial Working Group to transform the above consensus into practical cooperation results and continuously contribute positive energy to the development of Sino-US economic relations.
Reporter from China Central Radio and Television: We noticed that Treasury Secretary Yellen pointed out when attending an event of the American Chamber of Commerce in China in Guangzhou that she is particularly concerned about the problem of overcapacity, including signs of overcapacity in emerging fields. I would like to ask what specific response China made to this issue during the meeting and talks?
Answer: Thank you for your question. China attaches great importance to the production capacity issue and has given full and rational responses to this issue in meetings and talks with Treasury Secretary Yellen at all levels. In fact, there are differences and controversies on this issue. For example, Bloomberg’s latest article on April 3 believes that relevant data analysis does not support the so-called “overcapacity” in emerging industries. China believes that: first, the production capacity issue should be viewed in the context of economic globalization and upholding the principles of market economy and the laws of value. The so-called "overcapacity" is a manifestation of the functioning of the market mechanism. The balance of supply and demand is relative, and imbalance is often the norm. It can occur in any economy that implements a market economic system. It has also occurred many times in the history of the United States and other Western countries. Solving these problems mainly relies on market adjustment according to the law of value.
Second, production capacity issues should be analyzed based on the global division of labor and international market conditions. Taking new energy vehicles as an example, according to the International Energy Agency, global demand for new energy vehicles will reach 45 million units in 2030, which is 4.5 times that of 2022; global demand for new photovoltaic installed capacity will reach 820 GW, which is 4.5 times that of 2022. About 4 times. The current production capacity is far from meeting market demand, especially the huge potential demand for new energy products in many developing countries. China's new energy industry has experienced rapid development for decades. Its current competitive advantages are rooted in China's large-scale market advantages, complete industrial system and abundant human resources. It is also inseparable from the huge investment in R&D and innovation by enterprises and the unremitting efforts of entrepreneurs. Spirit. Enterprises reduce production costs through technological innovation and improve the economic accessibility of new energy products. On the basis of meeting domestic needs and promoting the realization of dual-carbon goals, China has also made positive contributions to the global response to climate change and the realization of green development. This should be objectively evaluated.
Third, trade protectionist measures will not help solve the production capacity problem. In view of the high enthusiasm in developing emerging industries in some places, China will further provide overall guidance at the national level on the premise of fully respecting the laws of the market economy. The relevant policy guidance is open and clear. It should be emphasized that we firmly oppose the "pan-security" and escalation of green protectionist measures by some developed economies. This is harmful to themselves and will seriously infringe on the legitimate development rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. China will not sit idly by. In fact, trade protectionist measures have been common in history, but they do not help solve substantive problems. As another Bloomberg article pointed out on April 3, the steel protectionist measures adopted by the United States in the past decade have not prevented the reduction of U.S. metal manufacturing jobs. They have also increased costs in other areas of the U.S. economy and reduced industry competitiveness. If The application of this policy to the new energy industry will further weaken the United States' ability to respond to climate change.
China believes that in the context of technological progress in the new energy industry driving in-depth adjustments to global production and supply chains, many countries including China will face the challenges of industrial transformation and labor structure adjustment. We should view this phenomenon objectively and make pragmatic and rational decisions. policy choices. China has noted the concerns of the United States and other relevant parties, and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with all parties, and treat differences rationally and properly handle them on the basis of adhering to market-oriented principles. The two sides will continue to communicate on this matter at the working group level.