2023 Economic Data - Wang Wentao on Foreign Trade Outlook - Li Qiang Visits Ireland - Wang Yi's Togo Visit
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People's Daily’s edition on Thursday, January 18, 2024.
Page 1: Let’s begin with the report on the annual economic data put out by the National Bureau of Statistics (English report). Key data points:
GDP was 126.058.2 trillion yuan in 2023, an increase of 5.2%. The contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth reached 82.5%, an increase of 43.1 percentage points over the previous year.
Total output of grain in 2023 was 695.41 million tons, an increase of 8.88 million tons.
Total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size was up by 4.6%; mining was up 2.3%; manufacturing was up by 5.0%; production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water was up by 4.3%; equipment manufacturing was up by 6.8%.
The production of solar cells, new energy vehicles and power-generating units (power-generating devices) grew by 54.0%, 30.3 % and 28.5%, respectively.
For the Jan-Nov period, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size were 6.982 trillion yuan, down by 4.4%. But they expanded in November, the fourth straight month of expansion.
Value added of services went up by 5.8% for the year.
Total retail sales of consumer goods reached 47.149 trillion yuan, up by 7.2% over the previous year. Retail sales in urban areas was up 7.1% (at 40.749 trillion yuan); the number for rural areas was 8% (at 6.400 trillion yuan).
Fixed assets investment reached 50.303.6 trillion yuan, up by 3.0% over the previous year, or up by 6.4% after deducting price factors.
Investment in infrastructure went up by 5.9%, manufacturing up by 6.5% and real estate development was down by 9.6%. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 1,117.35 million square meters, down by 8.5%. The total sales of commercial buildings were 11,662.2 billion yuan, down by 6.5%.
Private investment went down by 0.4%. Deducting the investment in real estate development, the private investment grew by 9.2%.
The investment in high-tech industries grew by 10.3 percent, 7.3 percentage points faster than that of the total investment. Specifically, the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 9.9% and 11.4% respectively. In terms of high-tech manufacturing, the investment in manufacturing of aerospace vehicle and equipment, manufacturing of computers and office devices and manufacturing of electronics and communication equipment grew by 18.4%, 14.5% and 11.1% respectively. In terms of high-tech services, the investment in services for transformation of scientific and technological achievements and in e-commerce services went up by 31.8% and 29.2% respectively.
Foreign trade was 41.756.8 trillion yuan, up 0.2%. Exports were 23.772 trillion yuan, up by 0.6%; the total value of imports was 17.984 trillion yuan, down by 0.3%. Trade with BRI countries grew by 2.8%, accounting for 46.6% of total trade. December trade was at 3.809 trillion yuan, up by 2.8%.
CPI went up by 0.2% over the previous year. In December, the CPI went down by 0.3% year on year, but was up by 0.1% month on month
Surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas averaged 5.2%. Surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged from 16 to 24, from 25 to 29, and from 30 to 59 (excluding students) registered 14.9%, 6.1% and 3.9%, respectively. There were 297.53 million rural migrant workers.
Nationwide per capita disposable income was 39,218 yuan, a nominal increase of 6.3% year on year, and a real increase of 6.1% after deducting price factors. Urban per capita disposable income was 51,821 yuan; rural per capita disposable income was 21,691 yuan. Nationwide per capita consumption expenditure was 26,796 yuan, a nominal growth of 9.2% over the previous year, or a real growth of 9.0%.
Total population was 1.409 billion, a decrease of 2.08 million year on year. In 2023, the number of births was 9.02 million with a birth rate of 6.39 per thousand; the number of deaths was 11.10 million with a mortality rate of 7.87 per thousand; the natural population growth rate was minus 1.48 per thousand. In terms of gender, the male population was 720.32 million, and the female population was 689.35 million; the sex ratio of the total population was 104.49 (the female is 100). China’s urbanisation rate was 66.16%.
Foreign exchange reserves exceeded $3.2 trillion at the end of the year.
Total R&D expenditure was 3.328 trillion yuan, around 2.64% of GDP
The output of industrial raw coal above designated size increased by 2.9%, the output of crude oil increased by 2%, and the output of natural gas increased by 5.8%
To add to this, here’s a snippet from a WSJ report:
“Chinese stocks fell after the data was released. The CSI 300 index was down 1.4%, putting it on course to close at its lowest level in almost five years. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which includes the shares of many Chinese companies, was around 3.7% lower. The country’s stock market is now in a multiyear slump, with foreign portfolio managers fleeing and individual investors in the country switching to safer assets. The poor state of the economy is a constant concern.”
Next, there’s a brief report on Xi Jinping congratulating Felix Tshisekedi on his reelection as the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Third, there is a brief report on the appointment of new ambassadors:
Cao Xiaolin was appointed ambassador to Qatar, replacing Zhou Jian.
Lin Nan was appointed ambassador to Seychelles, replacing Guo Wei.
Wang Wengang was appointed ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, replacing Qi Mei.
Pang Chunxue was appointed ambassador to Albania, replacing Zhou Ding.
Cai Weiming was appointed ambassador to Solomon Islands, replacing Li Ming.
Fei Mingxing was appointed ambassador to Samoa, replacing Chao Xiaoliang.
Wang Liang was appointed ambassador to Bolivia, replacing Huang Yazhong.
Alas, there is still no ambassador to India. The last appointment was Sun Weidong, who left in October 2022.
Fourth, there’s a report on Xi attending the funeral of Zhang Kehui, former leader of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League and also former vice chairperson of the National Committee of the CPPCC. The report also mentions that “Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, Han Zheng, Hu Jintao and others had either visited Zhang when he was in hospital or expressed deep condolences and offered sincere sympathies to his family through various means after his passing.”
Fifth, there is a report on Li Qiang meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at Farmleigh House. Xinhua reports:
“China is ready to work with Ireland to carry forward traditional friendship, consolidate political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and share development opportunities more fully, in a bid to bring more benefits to the two countries and the two peoples…Li expressed China’s willingness to work with the Irish side to adhere to mutual respect and trust, strive to seek common ground while shelving and resolving differences, deepen mutual understanding, and support each other on major issues. China and Ireland should continuously expand trade, strengthen cooperation in green and low-carbon development, sustainable agriculture, finance and other fields, and expand innovation cooperation in digital economy, biomedicine and artificial intelligence, making the pie of cooperation bigger, he said. China will apply unilateral visa-free policy to Ireland to facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries, Li said, voicing the expectation that Ireland will provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises. China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Ireland within the United Nations and other multilateral frameworks, practice genuine multilateralism, jointly tackle global challenges and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, he said. It is hoped that Ireland will play a greater role in promoting the sound and stable development of China-Europe relations, said Li.”
As per Xinhua, Varadkar said that “Ireland appreciates China’s great achievements in economic and social development, always abides by the one-China principle, and hopes that China will achieve peaceful reunification at an early date…Ireland stands ready to expand two-way investment with China, strengthen bilateral cooperation in such fields as agriculture, food, innovation, and green development, and deepen people-to-people exchanges in education and culture…The Irish side is willing to actively consider providing more convenience for Chinese citizens to visit Ireland, and welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Ireland, he noted, adding that Ireland supports further deepening Europe-China cooperation.”
Sixth, there is a report on Zhao Leji’s meeting with the Dominican Republic's Chamber of Deputies President Alfredo Pacheco. Xinhua says:
“The deepening political mutual trust, fruitful economic and trade cooperation, and increasing cultural and people-to-people exchanges fully prove that the establishment of diplomatic ties (which happened in 2019) between China and the Dominican Republic is the common aspiration of the people and the trend of the times and serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples, Zhao said. China appreciates the Dominican Republic's adherence to the one-China principle, Zhao noted, adding that there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is part of China. The universal consensus among the international community and stable pattern of adhering to the one-China principle will not change, he said. China and the Dominican Republic are good friends for common development and good partners for win-win cooperation, Zhao said, expressing the hope that the two sides will focus on the eight major steps proposed by China to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, speed up the alignment of development strategies and needs, and push for more cooperation outcomes. Zhao said that the NPC of China is willing to work with the Dominican Parliament to consolidate the political foundation for the development of bilateral relations, facilitate practical cooperation between the two countries, further improve relevant legal systems, and create a sound legal environment for strengthening investment cooperation and expanding personnel exchanges. He also called on the two sides to deepen friendly exchanges at all levels and in all areas, increase exchanges between senior legislators, special committees, friendship groups, NPC deputies and parliamentarians, enhance mutual trust and friendship, and consolidate popular support for friendly relations between the two countries.”
Pacheco also held talks with Vice President Han Zheng. The report is brief; you can read the English version here.
Finally, there is a commentary basically emphasising the key points from Xi’s speech on the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics. The stress is on the “八个坚持” or Eight Adherences that Xi had put out. I covered these yesterday, but putting them below again:
adherence to the centralised and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee over financial work
adherence to the people-centred value orientation
adherence to the fundamental purpose of finance to serve the real economy
adherence to the prevention and control of risks as the eternal theme of financial work
adherence to promoting financial innovation and development on the track of marketization and rule of law
adherence to deepening the supply side structural reform in the finance sector
adherence to coordinating financial opening and security
adherence to the general tone of striving for progress while maintaining stability
Page 2: Let me cover Wang Yi’s visit to Togo, where Wang met with the top political leadership. First, Wang met with Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey. Xinhua reports:
Dussey “reiterated that Togo would always stand firmly on China's side, adhere to the one-China principle, and support China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Togo-China friendship has a long history, and practical cooperation between the two countries has yielded fruitful results, Dussey said. He expressed gratitude to China for its long-term strong support for Togo's economic and social development, saying that Togo would follow the guidance of President Faure Gnassingbe and President Xi Jinping to strengthen the alignment of development strategies with China and further deepen practical cooperation in various fields. Facing the complex and severe challenges on the African continent and in the sub-region, Togo looks forward to strengthening strategic cooperation with China to jointly safeguard peace and stability, Dussey added.”
Wang “said that Dussey expressed firm support for the one-China principle at the airport last night, which fully demonstrated the friendly sentiments of the Togolese government and people toward China and the genuine partnership of mutual support between China and Togo. Over the years, China and Togo have set an example by treating each other on an equal footing and fostering mutually beneficial cooperation, and this relationship has also become a symbol of China-Africa solidarity and friendship, Wang said. Under the guidance of the two heads of state, bilateral relations have maintained a steady momentum of development, and practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples, he added. China is willing to expand all-round cooperation with Togo, implement joint projects effectively, and assist Togo in advancing its development, aiming to jointly strive for modernization...Wang said that China appreciates Togo's adherence to Pan-Africanism and its active mediation of sub-regional hotspot issues, and China supports Togo in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs. Wang expressed China's wish for Togo to successfully hold a Pan-African Congress. Africa is a continent full of hope and represents an independent pole in a multi-polar world, Wang said. He stressed that China supports African countries in upholding independence, seeking strength through unity, and holding Africa's destiny in their own hands.”
Next, Togolese Prime Minister Victoire Sidemeho Tomegah Dogbe. Xinhua says “Dogbe thanked China for its selfless support in Togo's development. Togo firmly upholds the one-China principle and supports China in realizing national reunification at an early date.”
Other key points:
Dogbe said that Togo admires China's remarkable development achievements and hopes to learn from China’s experience to strengthen cooperation in such fields as poverty alleviation, agriculture, industrial parks, interconnectivity, digital economy, personnel training and environmental protection, to create more jobs and achieve inclusive and sustainable growth.
Togo supports a series of important global initiatives put forward by the Chinese president
She said that the Sahel region is facing challenges to peace and security, and she “hopes to strengthen security and defense cooperation with China to combat terrorism.”
Finally, Wang met with Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe. This is covered in PD today. Xinhua’s reported comments by Gnassingbe:
“Africa has accelerated its economic growth, enhanced security and brought benefits to the people on the continent, he said, stressing that these achievements cannot be realized without China's long-term and selfless assistance.”
“Togo expresses gratitude to China for upholding justice in the international arena, opposing interference in Africa's internal affairs, and playing an indispensable role in Africa's peaceful development.”
“The African people need a friend like China, who takes care of Africa's realities, listens to Africa's demands, and never imposes its will on others.”
Wang said that:
“China understands and believes in Africa. As long as Africa is united and independent, grows strong through unity, and finds a development path suited to its national conditions, it will be able to overcome difficulties and create new opportunities. The 21st century is a century of revitalization for developing countries, Wang stressed, noting that China will always stand firmly with Africa, support Africa in accelerating its independent development, and promote the upgrading of China-Africa cooperation, to deliver more fruits of China-Africa cooperation to Togo and other African countries. Wang said that China has provided a reference for developing countries to explore development paths suited to their national conditions, and China stands ready to share development experience and opportunities with Africa to realize modernization for both China and Africa.”
Page 3: There is an interview with Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao. The first question is about the achievements in building a trading powerhouse. He made three points in response.
In 2023, China’s import and export of goods reached 41.76 trillion yuan in RMB, a year-on-year increase of 0.2%, withstanding the pressure and achieving positive growth. In terms of quantity, foreign trade imports and exports both maintained growth, with growth rates of 2.9% and 3.1%, respectively. In terms of share, China’s export international market share is basically stable, remaining at around 14%. 一是规模稳。2023年，我国货物进出口金额以人民币计达41.76万亿元，同比增长0.2%，顶住压力实现了正增长。从数量看，外贸进口、出口数量均保持增长，增速分别为2.9%、3.1%。从份额看，我国出口国际市场份额基本稳定，保持在14%左右.
Foreign trade structure is improving. Exports of new products are growing rapidly. In 2023, the total exports of the ‘three new’ products (electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells) were 1.06 trillion yuan, an increase of nearly 30%. New business formats are booming. Cross-border e-commerce increased by 15.6% throughout the year, of which exports increased by 19.6%. At present, Chinese companies have built more than 2,400 overseas warehouses, covering an area of more than 25 million square metres. 二是结构优。规模稳的同时，外贸结构上呈现不少新亮点。新产品出口快速增长，2023年全年，“新三样”产品（电动汽车、锂电池、太阳能电池）合计出口1.06万亿元，增长了近30%。新业态蓬勃发展，全年跨境电商进出口增长15.6%，其中出口增长19.6%。目前我国企业建设的海外仓已超过2400个，面积超过2500万平方米.
Several global partners. Wang says that China is the main trading partner of more than 140 countries and regions around the world. Trade relations with emerging markets have become closer. For the whole of 2023, China’s trade with BRI has increased to 46.6% of total trade; trade with Latin America and Africa increased by 6.8% and 7.1%, respectively. The network of high-standard free trade zones continues to expand. Last year, RCEP came into full effect for 15 member countries. China has also signed or upgraded free trade agreements with many countries, such as Ecuador, Nicaragua, Serbia, and Singapore. The number of FTA partners has increased to 29, and trade volume with FTA partners accounts for more than one-third of total foreign trade. China’s discourse power and influence in matters of international economic and trade rules continues to enhance. China has been deeply involved in the reform of the WTO, proposing Chinese solutions; it led the completion of text negotiations on the ‘Investment Facilitation Agreement for Development’; and it promoted the substantial conclusion of negotiations on some global digital trade rules. China has promoted the achievement of a number of economic and trade outcomes under the G20, APEC, BRICS, SCO and other mechanisms. It has collaborated with many countries to jointly release the ‘International Economic and Trade Cooperation Framework Initiative for Digital Economy and Green Development’. It is actively working to join the CPTPP and DEPA. 三是伙伴多。目前，我国有230多个经贸伙伴，是全球140多个国家和地区的主要贸易伙伴。与新兴市场贸易关系更加紧密，2023年全年，我国对共建“一带一路”国家进出口占比提升至46.6%，对拉美地区、非洲地区进出口分别增长6.8%和7.1%。高标准自贸区网络持续扩大，去年《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》（RCEP）对15个成员国全面生效，我国还和厄瓜多尔、尼加拉瓜、塞尔维亚、新加坡等多国新签或升级了自贸协定，自贸伙伴已增至29个，与自贸伙伴贸易额占外贸总额比重超过1/3。国际经贸规则话语权和影响力持续增强。深入参与世贸组织改革，多次提出中国方案，引领完成《促进发展的投资便利化协定》文本谈判，推动实质性结束部分全球数字贸易规则谈判。在G20、APEC、金砖国家、上合组织等机制下推动达成多项经贸成果。联合多国共同发布《数字经济和绿色发展国际经贸合作框架倡议》。积极推进加入《全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》（CPTPP）和《数字经济伙伴关系协定》（DEPA).
The next question is about the future scenario. Wang says that there are five favourable conditions for China:
First, China’s long-term economic fundamentals are improving. He says that China’s economy will grow faster than most major economies in 2023, and its contribution to world economic growth is expected to exceed 30%, making it the biggest engine of world economic growth Looking at the future, China’s economy is highly resilient, has great potential, and is full of vitality. The basic long-term positive trend has not changed, which provides strong support for the construction of a trading powerhouse.
Second, China has a strong production capacity. China possesses a complete industrial system. The added value of manufacturing accounts for about 30% of the world. It has obvious advantages in scale and efficiency. Most products can be supported by the entire industrial chain domestically.
Third, China has broad space for innovation. A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation represented by AI, quantum technology, life sciences, etc. are developing rapidly, and new track.s such as digital and green development, have spawned new business formats and new models, bringing new trade opportunities.
Fourth, China has a super large-scale market. With a population of more than 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of more than 400 million, China is the consumer market with the greatest potential. Simultaneously, the super large-scale market is advantageous for cost dilution, accelerating iteration, creating scenarios, and facilitating the rapid industrialization and scaling of new products.
Fifth, China has excellent infrastructure. China ranks first in the world in terms of mileage of high-speed railways, highways, express delivery volume, number of 5G base stations, and port throughput. Cross-border infrastructure continues to improve, and There are more than 80,000 China-Europe freight trains that operate, becoming an important trade and logistics channel between Asia and Europe. High-quality infrastructure provides an important guarantee for the stability and smoothness of the foreign trade supply chain.
一是长期向好的经济基本面。根据国际货币基金组织（IMF）预测，我国经济2023年增速好于绝大多数主要经济体，对世界经济增长的贡献有望超过30%，是世界经济增长的最大引擎。展望未来，我国经济韧性强、潜力大、活力足，长期向好的基本趋势没有改变，对贸易强国建设形成有力支撑。二是强大的生产能力。我国拥有完整的工业体系，制造业增加值约占全球的30%，规模和效率具有明显优势，大部分产品在国内就可以实现全产业链配套。三是广阔的创新空间。人工智能、量子技术、生命科学等为代表的新一轮科技革命和产业变革快速发展，数字、绿色等新赛道催生新业态新模式，带来贸易新机遇。四是超大规模的市场。我国有14亿多人口、4亿多中等收入群体，是最有潜力的消费市场。同时，超大规模市场还有利于摊薄成本、加快迭代、创造场景，让新产品快速产业化规模化。五是完善的基础设施。我国高铁、高速公路里程及快递发货量、5G基站数量、港口吞吐量均为世界第一。跨境基础设施不断完善，中欧班列已累计开行超过8万列，成为亚欧之间重要的贸易物流大通道。高质量的基础设施为外贸供应链稳定畅通提供了重要保障。
And then he highlights the negative factors, which is actually a rather good assessment. These are:
First, the external environment for “foreign trade development is becoming more complex and severe...From the perspective of international demand, the world economy is still sluggish. The IMF predicts that global economic growth will drop to 2.9% in 2024, lower than 3% in 2023 and lower than the average level of 3.8% in the 20 years before the pandemic. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development believes that global trade will remain ‘highly uncertain and generally pessimistic’ in 2024.” 当前世界进入新的动荡变革期，经济因素和非经济因素相互交织，各种“黑天鹅”“灰犀牛”事件不断增多，外贸发展面临的外部环境更趋复杂严峻。从国际需求方面看，世界经济依然低迷，IMF预测2024年全球经济增速将降至2.9%，低于2023年的3%，也低于疫情前20年3.8%的平均水平。联合国贸发会议认为，2024年全球贸易仍“高度不确定且总体悲观”.
From the perspective of trade barriers, in recent years, economic globalisation is facing headwinds with the rise of protectionism and unilateralism. Trade barriers have significantly increased. Traditional barriers such as anti-dumping, countervailing, and safeguard measures, and others have not decreased but rather grown. Additionally, new types of barriers, such as green barriers, are constantly emerging. 从贸易壁垒方面看，近年来，经济全球化遭遇逆流，保护主义、单边主义抬头。贸易壁垒明显增多。反倾销、反补贴、保障措施等传统壁垒有增无减，绿色等新型壁垒层出不穷。
From the perspective of international competition, China's competitive advantage is gradually shifting from cost advantages in factors to comprehensive advantages in business environment, independent innovation, and industrial support. Currently, neighbouring countries are using various preferential policies to attract business investments, and developed economies are actively seeking to attract the return of industries. Multinational companies are promoting ‘China + 1’ and ‘China + N’ layouts. All of these factors pose new challenges to foreign trade development. 从国际竞争方面看，我国竞争优势逐步从要素成本优势向营商环境、自主创新、产业配套等综合优势转变。当前，周边国家以各项优惠政策吸引企业投资，发达经济体也积极吸引产业回流，跨国公司推进“中国+1”“中国+N”布局，这些都给外贸发展带来了新挑战.
From the perspective of geopolitical conflicts, spillover risks have increased significantly, affecting the stability and smoothness of the global trade supply chain. In addition, climate change and frequent natural disasters have also increased the uncertainty of the foreign trade development environment. 从地缘冲突方面看，外溢风险显著上升，影响全球贸易供应链稳定畅通。此外，气候变化、自然灾害频发，也增大了外贸发展环境的不确定性.
The final question is about what the Ministry plans to do going ahead. Wang makes five points:
First, upgrade goods trade. In this, he talks about expanding trade in intermediate goods; promoting green development of trade and the digital transformation of the chain; further developing cross-border e-commerce; expanding imports of high-quality consumer goods, advanced technologies, important equipment, and key components, along with increasing imports of energy resource products and domestically scarce agricultural products; supporting foreign trade enterprises by increasing export credit insurance and export credit support, continuing to publish trade guides and foreign trade promotion information for key countries… “strengthen the linkage between trade and investment. The import and export of foreign-funded enterprises is an important part of foreign trade. We will continue to build the ‘Invest in China’ brand and attract more foreign investors to invest in ‘Made in China’ and ‘Chinese Services’, aiming to contribute not only to ‘in China, for China’ but also to ‘in China, for the world’.” 加强贸易投资联动，外资企业进出口是外贸的重要组成部分，我们将持续打造“投资中国”品牌，吸引更多外资投向“中国制造”“中国服务”，不仅“在中国、为中国”，而且“在中国、为世界”.
Second, innovate service trade. Under this, he calls to “promote the expansion and quality improvement of specialty service export bases, and promote cultural services, TCM services, professional services, etc. to go global. Deepen the opening up of the service sector, promote the relaxation of market access for telecommunications, medical and other service industries, and introduce and implement a negative list for cross-border service trade. Optimise the import and export structure of services, promote the export of knowledge-intensive services, expand the export of specialty services such as TCM, and expand the import of services related to research and development, design, energy conservation, carbon reduction, environment, and healthcare.. Accelerate the transformation and upgrading of service outsourcing, vigorously develop R&D, design, testing, and promote the integrated development of service outsourcing with the manufacturing industry.” 推动特色服务出口基地扩围提质，促进文化服务、中医药服务、专业服务等走出去。深化服务领域开放，推动放宽电信、医疗等服务行业市场准入，出台实施跨境服务贸易负面清单。优化服务进出口结构，推动知识密集型服务出口，扩大中医药等特色服务出口和研发设计、节能降碳、环境、医疗等服务进口。加快服务外包转型升级，大力发展研发、设计、检测等生产性服务外包，推动服务外包与制造业融合发展.
Third, develop digital trade. Strengthen and optimise the national digital services export base, conduct pilot trials in digital service market access, international rule alignment, cross-border data flow, standardised data collection, and hierarchical classification supervision. Cultivate a digital trade cluster with innovative technologies and systems. Actively participate in global digital trade governance, align with international high-standard economic and trade rules, and explore the establishment of a governance system for cross-border data flow based on the fundamental principle of free movement while balancing security and personal information protection. 做强做优国家数字服务出口基地，在数字服务市场准入、国际规则对接、跨境数据流动、数据规范化采集和分级分类监管等方面先行先试，培育科技、制度双创新的数字贸易集聚区.积极参与全球数字贸易治理，立足自身制度框架，对接国际高标准经贸规则，探索建立以自由流动为基本原则、统筹安全和个人信息保护的数据跨境流动治理体系.
Fourth, deepen international cooperation. In this, he talks about BRI, DEPA, CPTPP, RCEP, etc.
Fifth, “maintain trade security. Strengthen external communication and consultation, make good use of platforms such as the China-US Ministry of Commerce communication mechanism and the China-EU and China-Japan export control dialogue mechanisms, and strive to expand cooperation and narrow differences. Proactively address trade frictions, refine mechanisms for multi-entity coordinated responses, and do a good job in dealing with trade friction. Enrich the countermeasures ‘toolkit’, defend legitimate rights and interests through legal means, such as filing lawsuits at the WTO, and make good use of the unreliable entity list, etc. In the face of unreasonable sanctions and suppression, we will resolutely take effective measures to firmly safeguard national interests.” 加强对外沟通磋商，用好中美商务部沟通交流机制及中欧、中日出口管制对话机制等平台，争取扩大合作面、缩小分歧点.积极做好摩擦应对，完善多主体协同应对工作机制，稳妥做好贸易摩擦应对工作.丰富反制“工具箱”，通过在世贸组织提起诉讼等法律手段捍卫合法权益，用好不可靠实体清单等.面对无理的制裁和打压，我们将坚决采取有力措施，坚定维护国家利益.