China News Service, August 23. In response to the development of China’s free trade agreement, Wang Shouwen, deputy minister of commerce and deputy representative for international trade negotiations, said on the 23rd that the pace of new free trade agreement negotiations, including the China-Japan-Korea free trade agreement, should be accelerated. , China and the GCC, as well as the free trade agreement negotiations with Israel and Norway, are actively considering joining the CPTPP.

Data map: Wharf in operation.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Lin Hao

　　The Information Office of the State Council held a press conference on the 23rd to introduce the active contribution of business forces and strive to promote a well-off society in an all-round way, and answer reporters’ questions.

At the meeting, a reporter asked: In recent years, there have been more and more free trade agreements in the world. What is the development of China's free trade agreements?

What role did it play?

What are the considerations for the next step?

　　Wang Shouwen said that the current international free trade agreements are developing very vigorously. According to WTO statistics, there have been more than 350 free trade agreements reached so far. It is particularly noteworthy that some large free trade agreements have been signed and entered into force. For example, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Relations Agreement, the Regional Economic Partnership Agreement, the free trade agreement between the European Union and Japan, and the free trade agreements reached by the United States, Mexico, and Canada are all large-scale free trade agreements.

　　Wang Shouwen introduced that so far, 19 free trade agreements have been reached and 26 countries and regions have signed these agreements.

　　"Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, 9 free trade agreements have been signed, including 8 free trade agreements with individual countries. For example, China and South Korea, China and Australia, China and Switzerland, and one that everyone knows has formed the RCEP area. Economic partnership agreements, a total of 9 free trade agreements." Wang Shouwen said that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, while signing these 9 free trade agreements, it has also upgraded the free trade agreements reached in the past, including the free trade agreement with ASEAN. Upgrade. Free trade agreements between China and Chile, Singapore and New Zealand have all conducted upgrade negotiations. "These are very important tasks."

　　Wang Shouwen made it clear that the free trade agreement has a very obvious effect on my country.

First of all, it has a significant effect on expanding trade and investment relations with free trade partners and stabilizing my country's foreign trade and foreign capital.

For example, in 2012, the free trade agreement accounted for only 12.3% of my country's foreign trade. By last year, the free trade agreement partners accounted for nearly 35% of my country's total foreign trade.

Last year, the epidemic had a great impact on global foreign trade, but my country's trade with free trade partners increased by 3.2%, and trade with non-free trade agreement partners only increased by 0.8%, so the free trade agreement has a very significant effect on foreign trade. of.

"In terms of investment relations, nearly 70% of our foreign investment last year was in free trade partner countries, and 84% of foreign investment attracted came from free trade agreement partners. Therefore, it can be seen that the free trade agreement has played a very important role in trade and investment relations. Important role."

　　The second role is to further tighten economic and trade relations with free trade partners.

"For example, the bilateral trade volume between us and ASEAN in 2003 was only over 78 billion U.S. dollars. Last year, the bilateral trade volume reached 685.1 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 8.7 times. Without the free trade agreement, the trade volume would not have increased so much. China continues In 2012, it became ASEAN’s largest trading partner. Last year, ASEAN became China’s largest trading partner.” Wang Shouwen said.

　　The third role is that the free trade agreement has played a very good role in my country's opening to the outside world.

In terms of trade in goods, the average tariff of my country's most-favored nation is 7.5%.

The free trade agreement enables more than 90% of the trade between my country and its free trade partners to achieve zero tariffs, so the level of tariff liberalization in goods trade is very high.

"In terms of trade in services, when we joined the WTO, we only opened 100 departments in 160 departments of the World Trade Organization, but after we joined the FTA, we have greatly improved the trade in services. Taking RCEP as an example, the WTO opened 100 departments. RCEP has added 22 more open departments. Among the 100 departments that the WTO has opened, RCEP has expanded the level of openness to 37 of them, so service trade has also expanded."

　　Wang Shouwen also pointed out, "In the field of investment, there is no agreement on investment liberalization in the WTO. In the free trade agreement, we have made many regulations on investment liberalization, investment access, investment facilitation, and investment protection. This is beneficial to us. Two-way investment development with our free trade partners is conducive to the development of regional integration between us and our free trade partners, forming a more stable industrial chain and supply chain."

　　Wang Shouwen said that the Ministry of Commerce will further expand opening to the outside world and sign more free trade agreements. Upgrading the current free trade agreements is an important part of opening up. "In accordance with the deployment of the Party Central Committee and the requirements of the State Council, we will step up the formation of a high-standard free trade zone network based on the periphery, radiating the'Belt and Road', and facing the world, and implement the strategy of upgrading the free trade zone. Some free trade agreements, including the Singapore Free Trade Agreement and the Korean Free Trade Agreement have been further upgraded. At the same time, the pace of new free trade agreement negotiations should be accelerated, including the China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement negotiations, China and the GCC, and Israel, For Norway’s free trade agreement negotiations, we are actively considering joining the CPTPP."