Ministry of Commerce： Foreign trade is confident to achieve positive growth in the second half of the year.

　　On the afternoon of September 27th, the State Council Press Office held a routine briefing on the State Council policy, introducing the situation of supporting the stable development of foreign trade and answering reporters’ questions.

　　Wang Shouwen, international trade negotiator and vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce, said that from January to August, China’s foreign trade import and export reached 27.3 trillion yuan, a record high. However, foreign trade is facing some new uncertainties, and the growth of external demand is slowing down, which is the biggest uncertainty facing foreign trade at present. This is reflected in the slowdown in the economic growth of major economies such as the United States and Europe, and the decline in the growth rate of global trade in goods.

　　In order to cope with this background and promote the steady growth of foreign trade, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council made timely arrangements to create a good environment for foreign trade enterprises and create good conditions for the goal of maintaining stability and improving quality of foreign trade.

　　From January to August, China’s mechanical and electrical products accounted for 56.5% of foreign trade exports, while automobile exports increased by 57.6% and solar cell exports increased by 92.6%. It is worth noting that in August, the export growth of China to other RCEP member countries reached 23%, which was 11.2 percentage points higher than the overall foreign trade export growth rate in August. Free trade agreements, including RCEP, came into effect on January 1st this year, which played a very important role in promoting the development of China’s foreign trade.

　　Generally speaking, despite the background of slowing or even weakening external demand, we are confident that foreign trade will achieve positive growth in the second half of the year and make positive contributions to the recovery of the national economy through the growth of foreign trade.