On January 13, Ling Ji, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative, met with Achim Melnikov, Director General of the German Chamber of Commerce (DIHK). The two sides exchanged views on China-Germany economic and trade relations and other topics.
Ling Ji said that over the past 50-plus years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, economic and trade cooperation between China and Germany has achieved remarkable growth under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries. It has served as a “ballast” and “stabilizer” for China-Germany and China-Europe relations. China will steadfastly expand high-level opening up and continue to improve the business environment. There is broad space for China and Germany to cooperate in the fields of clean energy, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and service trade. Ling hoped the German Chamber of Commerce will continue to play an active role in encouraging more German companies to participate in series of activities such as “Invest in China” and “Export to China” and important exhibitions such as CIIE and CIFIT, strengthen cooperation between the industrial and supply chains of China and Germany, and contribute to the stable and healthy development of economic and trade relations between China and Germany and between China and Europe.
Melnikov said that China is one of Germany’s most important economic and trade partners. The German Chamber of Commerce attaches great importance to cooperation with China, and stands ready to continue playing a bridging role in strengthening dialogue and exchanges between enterprises of the two countries, deepening cooperation in green transition, smart manufacturing and health and medicine, so as to bring the economic and trade cooperation between Germany and China to a new level. The National Commerce Work Conference was held in Beijing from January 11 to 12. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the conference fully implemented the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, earnestly followed the arrangements of the Central Economic Work Conference, reviewed the commerce work in 2024, and mapped out the tasks for 2025. Wang Wentao, Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group and Minister of Commerce, delivered a work report, while Wang Shouwen, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group, China International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce, presided over the conference.
Key Points from the Conference
• 2024 Performance: 2024 was a crucial year for fulfilling the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan. The commerce system nationwide resolutely upheld the Two Establishments and fully implemented the Two Safeguards, successfully delivering on the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. It achieved generally stable and progressive commerce development, with steady domestic consumption growth, a new high in foreign trade volume, improved structure of foreign investment utilization, sound development of overseas investment and cooperation, fruitful outcomes in multilateral and bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and positive progress in high-standard opening-up, contributing significantly to the economic recovery and improvement.
• 2024 Work Highlights: 1) Promoted sustained consumption expansion, integrated consumption promotion with people's well-being improvement, and strived to boost consumption, smooth circulation and strengthen the market. 2) Advanced the building of a strong trading nation, consolidated the three pillars, strived to achieve quality improvement and stable volume growth in foreign trade, and enhanced development resilience. 3) Intensified efforts to attract and stabilize foreign investment, reduced restrictions through the negative list, improved the business environment, and steadily advanced institutional opening-up. 4) Facilitated innovative development of overseas investment and cooperation, and deepened practical cooperation in green development, digital economy and new infrastructure. 5) Continued to deepen multilateral and bilateral economic and trade relations, adhered to win-win cooperation, and maintained a diversified and stable international economic pattern and economic and trade relations. 6) Resolutely safeguarded economic security and prevented and defused major risks.
• 2025 Significance: 2025 marks the concluding year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. The commerce system will adhere to the general principle of making progress while maintaining stability, further deepen reform in all respects, expand high-standard opening-up, base itself on the Three Key Roles of commerce work, vigorously boost consumption, stabilize foreign trade and investment by all means, deepen international cooperation in industrial and supply chains, prevent and defuse risks and external shocks, accelerate high-quality commerce development, promote sustained economic recovery and improvement, successfully complete the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan with high quality, and lay a solid foundation for a sound start to the 15th Five-Year Plan.
• 2025 Key Tasks: 1) Launch special campaigns to boost consumption, expand the scope of the trade-in program for consumer goods, innovate diversified consumption scenarios, expand service consumption, develop digital consumption, accelerate the building of a high-standard market system, and improve the modern commercial circulation system. 2) Make every effort to stabilize foreign trade and promote high-quality trade development, accelerate the cultivation of new drivers of foreign trade, expand cross-border e-commerce, develop green trade, promote trade digitalization, support enterprises in exploring diversified international markets through multiple measures, actively expand imports, innovate and upgrade service trade, and develop digital trade innovatively. 3) Promote the stabilization and expansion of foreign investment attraction, create a world-class business environment, steadily expand independent opening-up and unilateral opening-up, continuously build the "Invest in China" brand, give play to the role of national economic and technological development zones as carriers for attracting foreign investment, and strengthen service guarantees for foreign-funded enterprises. 4) Proactively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, build high-quality opening-up platforms, promote the quality improvement and efficiency enhancement of pilot free trade zones and expand the authorization for reform tasks, optimize the functions of opening-up platforms, and promote the quality and efficiency improvement of exhibitions. 5) Promote international cooperation in industrial and supply chains, improve the quality and level of overseas investment and cooperation, deepen the reform of the overseas investment management system, and improve the comprehensive overseas service system. 6) Strengthen practical economic and trade cooperation, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to achieve solid progress, improve economic and trade cooperation mechanisms, deepen Silk Road e-commerce cooperation, promote the construction of landmark projects and "small yet beautiful" livelihood projects in a coordinated manner, and coordinate cooperation in traditional and emerging fields. 7) Actively participate in global economic governance, strengthen multilateral, bilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation, fully participate in the reform of the World Trade Organization, expand the global network of high-standard free trade areas, and deepen bilateral economic and trade relations. 8) Prevent and defuse major risks and resolutely safeguard national security.
• Organizational Requirements: Uphold and strengthen the overall leadership of the Party over commerce work, effectively address the follow-up issues of inspections, earnestly fulfill the main responsibility for exercising full and rigorous self-governance over the Party, fully promote various reform and development tasks in the commerce field, and advance the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan. At the same time, ensure work safety and market supply during the year-end and New Year period.
• Closing Remarks: The commerce system nationwide must unite more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, deeply understand the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, enhance the Four Consciousnesses, strengthen the Four Matters of Confidence, and fully implement the Two Safeguards, and make new and greater contributions to comprehensively advancing the building of a great modern socialist country and the national rejuvenation through the tangible achievements of high-quality commerce development.
• Participants: Representatives from some central and state organs, commerce authorities of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps attended the conference.
