China News Network, March 26. How is the supply of the daily necessities market in China? What was the level of consumption recovery in March? Will the residents experience retaliatory consumption after the epidemic? Will there be more measures to stimulate cars in the future? On the 26th, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference, and relevant persons in charge answered questions on hot issues related to the epidemic.
Data map: On March 24th, citizens of Xiaogan, Hubei, shopped in a supermarket. Photo by Zhang Chang from China News Agency
Hubei and Wuhan have sufficient stocks of daily necessities
At the meeting, Wu Guoyi, director of the Department of Service and Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, introduced the recent market supply market supply situation.
According to Wu Guoyi, at present, the overall market for daily necessities in the country is generally abundant, and prices have fallen steadily. According to the monitoring by the Ministry of Commerce, on March 25, the wholesale price of grain in 100 large-scale agricultural and sideline products wholesale markets was basically the same as the end of February, and the wholesale price of edible oil fell by 0.3%; the wholesale prices of pork, beef, and lamb fell by 2.6%, 1.1%, and 1.8 %; The price of white strip chicken and eggs decreased by 1.7% and 4.0% respectively; the average wholesale price of 30 kinds of vegetables decreased by 15.6%.
In addition, Hubei and Wuhan have sufficient stocks of daily necessities, sufficient supplies, and guaranteed market operation. On March 25, Hubei and Wuhan's key investigating retail companies, such as rice noodle oil, meat, egg milk, and vegetables, continued to increase their total inventories, further increasing their market supply capacity. The sales of pork and vegetables in Wuhan's major supermarkets remained basically stable, and dynamic inventory was at a high level. Relying on the nine-provincial joint guarantee and joint supply cooperation mechanism, the relevant provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities relocate rice noodles, oil, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and other products in accordance with the consumer demand in the Wuhan market in Hubei to ensure local market supply. So far, more than 72,000 tons of daily necessities have been transported to Hubei, including more than 62,000 tons of fruits and vegetables, more than 6,670 tons of rice noodles, more than 3130 tons of cooking oil, and more than 680 tons of convenience foods.
The epidemic will not change the trend of stable and long-term consumption in China
At present, the normal order of production and living in China is gradually being restored. Some reporters care: When will the domestic consumer market return to normal? What was the level of consumption recovery in March? Will residents experience retaliatory consumption? What are the expectations for the development of the consumer and service industries throughout the year?
According to Wu Guoyi, after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, residents' outings decreased sharply, and the consumer market was greatly affected. At the same time, China's consumer market has also shown strong resilience and vitality. Rigid consumption has increased steadily. New consumption hotspots have accelerated to form, and the space for upgrading consumption has continued to expand. From January to February, the retail sales of food and beverages of units above designated size increased by 9.7% and 3.1% respectively year-on-year, and the online retail sales of physical goods increased by 3%.
Wu Guoyi emphasized that the impact of the epidemic on China's consumption is short-term and controllable. Recently, as the situation of epidemic prevention and control continues to improve, enterprises resume operations and speed up, and market sales have bottomed out. According to a survey by the Ministry of Commerce, as of March 22, the average rate of resumption of work in large agricultural product wholesale markets reached 97%, large supermarkets 96%, farmers' markets (vegetable markets) 94%, and department stores (shopping malls) 90%. The Ministry of Commerce focused on monitoring that the average daily sales of retail enterprises in late February increased by 5.6% compared to mid-February, 0.5% month-on-month in early March, and 0.8% month-on-month in mid-March.
Wu Guoyi mentioned that compared with commodity consumption, consumption of living services such as catering, accommodation, housekeeping and so on requires direct contact with consumers, and the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic is more obvious. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the catering revenue in January-February fell 43.1% year-on-year. According to the monitoring of the Ministry of Commerce, the operating income of the accommodation, housekeeping and other industries in February decreased by more than 75% year-on-year.
Wu Guoyi introduced that recently, the situation of epidemic prevention and control in the country has continued to consolidate and expand. The resumption of work and life of living service enterprises has been steadily progressing, and the consumption of living services has gradually recovered. The monitoring of the Ministry of Commerce shows that as of now, the rate of resumption of work in catering, accommodation and domestic enterprises has reached 80%, 60%, and 40% respectively; the recovery of consumption of catering and other services is also accelerating. On March 25, the Ministry of Commerce focused on contacting The operating income of 3,000 catering stores rose by about 10 percentage points within a week in the same period last year, and was more than 30 percentage points higher than the lowest point in February.
Wu Guoyi emphasized that with the further restoration of the social production and living order, a series of policies and measures to promote consumer release and release introduced by the state and localities have gradually come into effect, and the consumer market will continue to rebound steadily in the later period. The epidemic will not change China ’s consumption in a stable, long-term, long-term To a good development trend. In some areas, some rigid consumption has been postponed due to the impact of the epidemic, and will be compensated after the epidemic, with compensatory consumption.
Data Map: Dalian Port Container Terminal.
National key foreign trade companies have basically resumed work
With the spread of the global epidemic, has the resumption of work resumed in foreign trade companies in China? Liu Changyu, the second-level inspector (deputy director-level) of the Department of Foreign Trade, said that since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the Ministry of Commerce, in conjunction with various localities and departments, has vigorously promoted the resumption of production and production of foreign trade enterprises and strived to smooth the supply chain of the foreign trade industry chain. According to statistics, as of March 24, key foreign trade companies across the country have basically resumed work, and the proportion of key foreign trade companies with a recovery rate of more than 70% has reached 71.3%, an increase of 4.6 percentage points from a week ago. It can be said that the current situation of China's foreign trade enterprises returning to work and production has remained stable and orderly.
Liu Changyu pointed out that the adverse impact of the spread of the international epidemic on the resumption of production and production of foreign trade enterprises is staged. First, it has affected international demand. China ’s major trading partners have entered an emergency state of “anti-epidemic”. In the short term, foreign trade companies are facing the impact of weak international market demand. Second, it has affected international trade cooperation. China's imports of intermediate products and raw materials may be affected, which in turn will affect the final product exports. Thirdly, it has affected international business activities. The exchanges of economic and trade cooperation personnel tend to stagnate, various types of exhibition negotiations have been postponed or cancelled, and enterprises are facing new problems such as inadequate traditional methods and poor traditional channels for obtaining new orders.
Liu Changyu said that the epidemic does not know national boundaries, and the virus is the common enemy of mankind, and we will prevail. The Ministry of Commerce will pay close attention to the challenges brought by the global pandemic, actively and orderly promote the resumption of production and production of foreign trade enterprises, guarantee the production and export of important enterprises and key products, and support enterprises to actively seize orders through online negotiations, online exhibitions, etc., and work with other countries Ensure that the global supply chain is open, stable, and secure, and make every effort to stabilize the basic foreign trade.
Seven of China's top ten import source countries have more than 1,000 diagnoses
As the epidemic spreads and the scope of overseas shutdowns and production increases, which industries face greater challenges? Liu Changyu introduced that according to customs statistics, from January to February this year, China's imports were 208.317 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.4%. Recently, the global epidemic situation has spread, and countries have adopted more stringent epidemic prevention measures, which have gradually shown their impact on the global economy and trade. Countries with more than 1,000 confirmed diagnoses account for half of China's imports, and seven of China's top ten import source countries have more than 1,000 confirmed diagnoses. The scope of overseas shutdowns and production expansions has expanded and supply capacity has weakened. Judging from the current situation, the import of mechanical and electrical, transportation equipment, energy and chemical industries has been greatly affected.
Liu Changyu pointed out that since the outbreak, the Ministry of Commerce has issued a series of policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade, promote foreign investment, and promote consumption in accordance with the decision-making arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. Scheduling and actively coordinating and solving specific problems encountered by foreign trade enterprises.
In the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to promote the resumption of production and production of foreign trade enterprises in an orderly manner, focusing on the following aspects: First, closely track the difficulties and pain points encountered by foreign trade enterprises in importing. The second is to actively increase imports. The third is to improve the level of import facilitation, to further simplify the import approval process, shorten customs clearance time, and continuously reduce the institutional costs of customs clearance. The fourth is to speed up the fostering of import trade to promote innovation demonstration zones, and give full play to the demonstration and leading role of demonstration zones in promoting imports, service industries, and increasing consumption.
What is the impact of the sudden drop in overseas orders on foreign trade companies? Ministry of Commerce response
Because the epidemic situation in Europe and the United States is getting more severe, overseas demand has shrunk and orders have fallen sharply or cancelled. A reporter asked: What do you think of the impact of the sudden drop in overseas orders on foreign trade companies? Will there be more problems of closure and unemployment?
Liu Changyu introduced that at present, the epidemic of new crown pneumonia has spread to more than 190 countries and regions. As countries take measures to prevent and control the epidemic in personnel exchanges, international logistics and transportation, China's major trading partners, including Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea, are affected to varying degrees in domestic production and consumer demand, which inevitably affects China. The normal development of bilateral trade has brought some pressure. International organizations and agencies have lowered their global economic and trade expectations.
Liu Changyu also pointed out that although the external environment of China's foreign trade development has increased uncertainty and the downward pressure on international trade demand has increased, we must also see that China's foreign trade industrial chain has a complete structure and strong competitiveness, and Chinese enterprises have strong innovation capabilities and foreign trade. The ability of enterprises to adapt to crisis is strong. These capabilities have been proven in the past in response to crises, and they should be tempered in this epidemic.
At present, the interests of various countries are deeply integrated. On the one hand, the Ministry of Commerce will strengthen the research and judgment on the epidemic development of relevant countries, especially China's key trading partners, and the situation of bilateral trade and economic cooperation. Mitigate the external risks of foreign trade development. On the other hand, the Ministry of Commerce will make full use of various foreign trade policies, and in particular, it will promote policies and measures to help enterprises precisely, such as finance, taxation, finance, export credit guarantee, etc., and implement them as soon as possible, and support local, industry organizations and trade promotion agencies to provide enterprises with Necessary legal and information services to guide enterprises to prevent risks and help enterprises to protect the market, order and share.
Liu Changyu mentioned that foreign trade enterprises do face some pressure at the moment. However, under great pressure, China has great potential for foreign trade, and there is also plenty of room for manoeuvre. The pressure is strong, and China's foreign trade companies have a strong sense of innovation and ability to open up markets. The Ministry of Commerce will increase coordination, help enterprises accurately, overcome difficulties together, and fully stabilize the basic foreign trade. Focus on the following areas: First, pay close attention to the implementation of policies and stabilize the stock. The second is to bring into play the role of new trade formats and new models to activate the increase. The third is to continuously improve the level of international trade facilitation and optimize the domestic business environment. Fourth, strengthen international cooperation and optimize the international market environment.
Data sheet: Automobile production workshop. Photo by Zhang Chang from China News Agency
Ministry of Commerce will introduce measures to promote consumption of new energy vehicles
In response to the recent policy of stimulating consumption, such as the relaxation of purchase restrictions and subsidies for autos going to the countryside, Xi Guoyi said that these measures will help expand consumption of physical goods and promote consumption replenishment.
According to Wu Guoyi, the automobile is the pillar of the consumer market. The retail sales of automobiles of units above designated size account for about 10% of the total zero of the company. The epidemic situation has a large impact on automobile consumption in the short term. According to statistics from the China Automobile Industry Association, 2.238 million vehicles were sold in January-February this year, a year-on-year decrease of 42%, of which 310,000 were sold in February, a 79.1% decrease.
Wu Guoyi pointed out that with the epidemic being under control, the number of car sales outlets opening business is increasing, and consumer buying behavior is gradually recovering. According to a survey of 8,569 4S stores nationwide by the China Automobile Dealers Association, as of March 24, the rate of store rework reached 94.7 %, The passenger flow recovery rate is 61.7%. In order to hedge the impact of the epidemic on consumption, Hangzhou and other places have introduced measures to relax restrictions on purchases, which will help expand physical commodity consumption and promote consumption replenishment.
Wu Guoyi pointed out that in the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will encourage localities to introduce measures to promote the consumption of new energy vehicles and carry out the trade-in of new cars in order to further stabilize and expand automobile consumption in accordance with local conditions.
Canton Fair postponed
The Guangdong Provincial Department of Commerce said recently that the 127th Canton Fair will not be held as scheduled on April 15. Will this year's Canton Fair be cancelled? Liu Changyu said that after research, the 127th Canton Fair was postponed.
Liu Changyu pointed out that the Canton Fair is an important platform for China's foreign trade and opening up, and is a "barometer" and a "wind vane" for China's foreign trade. Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the Ministry of Commerce and the Guangdong Provincial People's Government, on the one hand, do all the preparations for the 127th Canton Fair as planned, on the other hand, closely follow the trend of the epidemic, analyze the relevant impacts in depth, and adjust and improve various programs. After research, the 127th Canton Fair was postponed.
Liu Changyu said that the Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments and localities, will continue to make good preparations and improve various work plans including epidemic prevention and control. After the specific date is determined, it will be released as soon as possible.
During the epidemic, the exhibition industry was hit hard. Will the Ministry of Commerce have any policies and guiding measures for the exhibition industry? Tong Guoyi said that the convention and exhibition industry is an important platform for building a modern market system and an open economic system, and plays an important role in driving economic growth, promoting open cooperation, increasing social employment, and promoting urban development. Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the current domestic and international exhibitions have basically stagnated, and the exhibition industry has been greatly affected.
According to the central deployment, the Ministry of Commerce has carried out two aspects of work: on the one hand, the introduction and implementation of support policies. Promote paperless filing and approval of "invisible" to provide convenient channels for enterprises. Publicize and implement the policies and measures for benefiting enterprises promulgated by various departments of the State Council to help enterprises make good and sufficient use of policies. Encourage and guide local governments to introduce preferential policies to support the development of the convention and exhibition industry according to local conditions, and do a good job in epidemic response, corporate assistance and aftercare. Up to now, a total of more than 20 provinces (municipalities) including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin have issued policies to support the development of the convention and exhibition industry or support policies for small and micro enterprises including convention and exhibition enterprises. On the other hand, we actively promote the innovation of the exhibition mode. Make full use of modern information technologies such as the Internet, big data, and VR to host online exhibitions, and change from "face-to-face" to "screen-to-screen" and "line-to-line" to innovate exhibition marketing and business matching channels.
Liu Changyu emphasized that in the long run, the fundamentals of the steady development of China's economy have not changed. The development of the exhibition industry has a solid economic foundation, and the trend of long-term stable development will not change. In the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to study policies and measures to launch innovative exhibition services and promote new models in accordance with the requirements of the central government.