Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 7 -
Question: meet at a higher level and opening the needs of people for a better life - the 2021 business work force point Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao talk
Xinhua News Agency reporter Yu Jiaxin and Wang Yuxiao
New start, new start, new atmosphere.
In the first year of the "14th Five-Year Plan", with the establishment of a new development pattern as the "outline", business work will take new steps.
What are the new ways to promote consumption in the new year?
How to continue to stabilize the basic foreign trade and foreign investment?
What are the new actions in the construction of the free trade zone (port)?
How to construct the "friend circle" of free trade?
A reporter from Xinhua News Agency interviewed Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce.
Give full play to the key pivotal role of business work connecting domestic and international circulation
"The Ministry of Commerce is connected to the domestic cycle at one end and the international cycle at the other. The Ministry of Commerce can play an important role in the linkage between the domestic and international cycles," said Wang Wentao.
In his view, business work is an important part of the domestic big cycle, connecting internal and external, connecting urban and rural areas, and connecting production and sales. It is also a key hub of the domestic and international double cycle. It has a very important position in building a new development pattern and a very heavy responsibility.
Wang Wentao said that to build a new development pattern, the Ministry of Commerce will focus on two aspects:
In terms of promoting a smooth domestic cycle, based on the strategic basis of expanding domestic demand, stimulate consumption potential and vitality, and promote the formation of a strong domestic market.
Optimize the layout of the circulation network, open up the internal circulation blocking points, make up for the shortcomings, and improve the level of domestic circulation.
In terms of promoting smooth domestic and international dual cycles, we will persist in opening wider, wider areas, and deeper levels of opening to the outside world, make good use of the resources of both domestic and international markets, stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment, and deepen economic and trade cooperation along the Belt and Road. Promote the integration of domestic and foreign trade, build a high-level open platform, and deepen multilateral and bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
"We will actively promote the coordinated development of domestic and external demand, import and export, foreign investment and foreign investment, accelerate the construction of a new higher-level open economic system, and promote better connectivity and mutual promotion of domestic and foreign markets." Wang Wentao said.
Four aspects start to stimulate consumption potential
Consumption is a key link and an important engine to smooth the domestic cycle.
The Central Economic Work Conference pointed out that expanding consumption should be combined with improving people's quality of life.
What new measures will the Ministry of Commerce take to promote consumption in 2021?
"Based on the strategic basis of expanding domestic demand, we must follow the trend of consumption upgrades, strengthen digital empowerment, improve circulation efficiency, release consumption potential, and give full play to the fundamental role of consumption in economic development." Wang Wentao said, the Ministry of Commerce will focus on four Aspect work.
——Improve the traditional consumption level.
Promote the consumption of commodities, unblock the consumption chain of large commodities such as automobiles, home appliances, and furniture, and support local areas to carry out activities such as trade-in and auto-going to the countryside.
Expand service consumption, boost catering consumption, and promote the quality and capacity expansion of housekeeping services.
Develop rural consumption, expand the coverage of e-commerce in rural areas, develop cold chain logistics of agricultural products, support the construction of township business centers, and create important nodes that connect urban and rural consumption.
-Speed up the cultivation of new types of consumption.
Encourage enterprises to use information technologies such as 5G and the Internet of Things to accelerate the digital and intelligent transformation of physical businesses to meet individual and customized consumer needs.
"Many commercial enterprises have made a lot of useful explorations in the development of new consumer formats and models. We must actively encourage and increase support and cultivation." Wang Wentao said.
——Improve the consumer market system.
Build a modern commerce and trade circulation system, unblock the “main artery” of the circulation network, open up the “microcirculation” of urban and rural circulation, accelerate the integration of online and offline, and increase circulation efficiency and reduce circulation costs.
Optimize the consumption environment and strengthen the construction of consumer credit and standard systems to make consumption convenient and affordable, and safe and secure.
——Optimize the consumption upgrade platform.
Cultivate and form a number of international consumer centers with global influence, and steadily and orderly promote the reform and upgrading of pedestrian streets.
Build a quarter of an hour community convenience living circle, deepen the three-year action of branding convenience stores, promote convenience stores to enter the community, and transform a number of convenient service facilities such as breakfast shops and vegetable markets.
Resolutely stabilize the basic market of foreign trade and foreign investment
In 2020, in the face of the impact of the epidemic, my country's foreign trade and foreign investment both stabilized and improved and were better than expected.
In 2021, can this momentum continue?
How to continue to stabilize the basic foreign trade and foreign investment?
"At present, the situation we are facing is still severe and complicated, and the pressure to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment is still very large." Wang Wentao said that the Ministry of Commerce will work hard to promote the stable development of foreign trade and foreign investment, improve quality, resolutely stabilize the basic market of foreign trade and foreign investment, and increase foreign investment. Comprehensive competitiveness, to consolidate the industrial foundation of serving domestic and international dual cycles.
In terms of stabilizing foreign trade, the Ministry of Commerce will focus on the implementation of three plans: namely, the excellent import and export plan, the establishment of a national import trade promotion innovation demonstration zone, and the cultivation of new business models and models of foreign trade; the trade industry integration plan, identifying a number of foreign trade transformation and upgrading bases, and promoting Pilot projects for innovative development of service trade; unblocked trade plan, negotiate with countries related to the “Belt and Road” to establish a unblocked trade work group, expand the scale of overseas warehouses, and strengthen the construction of an international marketing system.
In terms of stabilizing foreign investment, the Ministry of Commerce will unswervingly expand opening up, continue to relax market access, implement the new version of the negative list of foreign investment access and the catalog of industries that encourage foreign investment, promote the establishment of comprehensive pilots for expanding the opening up of the service industry, and innovate and upgrade national economic development zones.
"We will also implement the Foreign Investment Law and supporting regulations, optimize the foreign investment information reporting system, give full play to the role of the foreign-funded enterprise complaint mechanism, and protect the intellectual property rights and legal rights of foreign-funded enterprises." Wang Wentao said.
Promote the construction of free trade zone (Hong Kong) open platform with system innovation
In the new year, with greater efforts to reform and opening up, how can the free trade pilot zone and free trade port function as a platform for opening up to the outside world?
"We will firmly support the pilot free trade zone to give full play to the advantages of pioneering, piloting and opening up highlands, and to be at the forefront of building a new development pattern." Wang Wentao said.
Focus on high-level opening, intensify opening stress testing, formulate a negative list of cross-border service trade in pilot free trade zones, and continue to expand opening in the digital economy; focus on deep-level reforms, give greater reform autonomy, and form more systems Innovative achievements; focus on the development of the industrial chain, support the development of characteristic and advantageous industries in the respective trade pilot zones, and enhance the open development level of the industrial chain supply chain... The Ministry of Commerce will make efforts in these areas in the future.
At present, the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port has started smoothly. What are the next steps?
"We will continue to implement the spirit of the important instructions of General Secretary Jin Ping on the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port, connect with high-level international economic and trade rules, put system innovation in a prominent position, and work with relevant parties to implement various policies and systems determined by the overall plan. , To promote the Hainan Free Trade Port to play a greater role in building a new development pattern." Wang Wentao said.
Expanding the "friend circle" of free trade to make free trade agreements better benefit enterprises
The implementation of the free trade zone promotion strategy and the establishment of a global high-standard free trade zone network are the contents of the "14th Five-Year Plan" proposal and an important measure to promote high-level opening up.
In November 2020, my country signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), and the world's largest free trade zone was born.
A week ago, the China-EU investment agreement negotiations were completed and a balanced, high-level, mutually beneficial and win-win investment agreement was reached.
"Our free trade partners are increasing and the level of openness is getting higher and higher." Wang Wentao said that at present, my country has signed 19 free trade agreements with 26 countries and regions, and the trade volume with free trade partners has reached 35%. .
Wang Wentao said that in the future, the Ministry of Commerce will focus on implementing the free trade zone upgrading strategy from three aspects to provide a higher level of institutional guarantee for the construction of a new development pattern.
-Further expand the scope.
Promote the early implementation of RCEP, accelerate the negotiation of China-Japan-Korea free trade agreement, promote the free trade negotiation process with the GCC, Israel, and Norway, and actively consider joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP).
Sign free trade agreements with more trading partners and continue to expand the "friend circle" of free trade.
-Further improve the level.
Further increase the zero-tariff ratio of trade in goods, relax market access for service trade and investment, actively participate in negotiations on new rules and issues such as the digital economy and environmental protection, and promote the construction of a new higher-level open economic system.
——Further enhance the effectiveness.
Taking the effective implementation of RCEP as an opportunity, increase the promotion, promotion and training of free trade agreements.
"Improving the comprehensive utilization rate of free trade agreements, in the final analysis, is to make free trade agreements better benefit enterprises." Wang Wentao said that through the implementation of free trade agreements, it is necessary to tighten the bond between my country and related countries and regions and improve the level of multilateral and bilateral economic and trade relations. .