On July 18, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the theme of "High-quality completion of the 14th Five-Year Plan." Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao stated at the meeting that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's status as a major trading country has been further consolidated, and significant achievements have been made in high-quality development: the scale of goods trade remains the largest in the world, and the scale of service trade remains the second largest in the world.

Wang Wentao said that the past five years of the "14th Five-Year Plan" can be described as unusually unusual and extraordinary. Under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we have earnestly implemented all the arrangements for the central "14th Five-Year Plan," given full play to the "three important" positioning of business work, tackled difficulties, dared to struggle and was good at struggling, and innovated boldly, and effectively promoted the implementation of various goals and tasks.

In general, business development has withstood one wave after another of shocks, passed the historical test, and the main target indicators in various fields such as consumption, foreign trade, foreign investment, and international cooperation have progressed as expected. Major tasks have been smoothly advanced, and significant progress has been made in high-quality business development, contributing to the successful conclusion of the "14th Five-Year Plan." Next, I will briefly review and introduce the main achievements of business development during the "14th Five-Year Plan" from four aspects.

First, the role of consumption as the main engine and stabilizer has been enhanced, and the advantages of a strong domestic market have become evident. The consumption market scale remains the second largest in the world, with an average annual growth rate of 5.5% in the total social retail sales of commodities over the past four years, and it is expected to exceed 50 trillion yuan this year. Service consumption continues to grow rapidly, with the proportion of residents' service expenditure increasing by 3.5 percentage points, reaching 46.1%. New forms of consumption are developing vigorously, and new business models and scenarios are diverse and rich, making people's beautiful lives more concrete and vivid. The annual contribution rate of consumption to economic growth has reached around 60%, and the role of the main engine continues to be prominent. The advantages of China's strong domestic market have significantly improved, and the vitality has significantly increased.

Second, the status of a major trading country has been further consolidated, and the effectiveness of high-quality development has been remarkable. Foreign trade has withstood pressure and shown resilience, with goods trade remaining the largest in the world, and the international market share of exports and imports has remained stable at 14% and above 10%, respectively. The scale of service trade remains the second largest in the world, exceeding 1 trillion US dollars for the first time last year. The quality of foreign investment has improved, with cumulative foreign investment absorption exceeding the expected target of 700 billion US dollars since the beginning of the "14th Five-Year Plan." The golden brand of "Investing in China" continues to be polished, and the structure of attracting investment continues to be optimized. International cooperation in production and supply chains is being promoted in an orderly manner, with an average annual growth rate of over 5% in foreign investment, ranking among the top three in the world. The overall situation of foreign contracting projects remains stable with some improvement, and China has signed multiple memorandums of understanding on production and supply chain cooperation with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Third, the pace of high-level opening up has accelerated, and the win-win cooperation situation has continued to expand. The negative list for foreign investment access has continued to shrink, with all manufacturing sector access restrictions completely "cleared," and pilot programs for the opening up of sectors such as value-added telecommunications and biotechnology have been carried out in an orderly manner. The 22 free trade pilot zones have effectively played their role as comprehensive experimental platforms for reform and opening up, actively aligned with international high-standard economic and trade rules, and carried out pilot trials. The orderly expansion of autonomous and unilateral openness has been carried out, and 100% tariff-free treatment has been provided for 100% of tariff items for the least developed countries and African countries with which we have established diplomatic relations. High-quality implementation of RCEP has been carried out, and active progress has been made in the process of joining CPTPP and DEPA. In 2024, the proportion of China's goods trade with free trade partners (including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) reached 43%.

Fourth, the institutional system for maintaining economic security has been continuously improved, and the ability to prevent risks and respond to shocks has significantly improved. The legal system for foreign-related economic and trade has been accelerated, and the "Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items" have been issued, improving the export control system. Trade remedy tools have been used effectively, and trade frictions have been properly handled. Foreign investment safety reviews have been conducted in accordance with regulations, providing protection for high-level opening up. Investment agreements have been negotiated and upgraded with relevant countries, and major overseas emergencies have been properly handled, safeguarding overseas interests and security.

Looking back over the past five years, we have deeply realized that the greater the difficulties and challenges, the more China's institutional advantages, the vast market, and the complete industrial system advantages can be demonstrated, the more the broad potential, strong resilience, and strong vitality of China's economy can be shown, and the more China's responsible major country's sense of responsibility can be highlighted. In the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will follow the central government's unified arrangements, proactively adapt to changes in the situation, grasp strategic priorities and direction of objectives, and actively plan and promote the high-quality development of commerce during the "15th Five-Year Plan."

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7528251028945388074/

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