Market

On January 5 and January 12， the Ministry of Commerce held the regular press conference. Spokesman Sun Jiwen answered the hot and sensitive questions to the high concern of both domestic and overseas media.

Q： ： Weve just celebrated the New Years Day. Could MOFCOM share with us some information on market consumption during the festive period？

A： During the New Year holiday of 2017， consumption markets across the country grew steadily， featuring bright spots like quality products， culture and leisure and casual dining. With ample supplies of daily necessities and stable prices， the year was launched to a good start.

First， sales of goods saw a steady increase. The holiday season offered good opportunities for online and offline promotions. With the supply of quality goods topped up， household appliances and digital electronics， air purifiers， gold and jewelry and seasonal apparel were among the star performers. For the three-day holiday， Chongqing， Beijing and Shanghai saw the sales of monitored commerce businesses grow by 13.2%， 10.2% and 9.1%.

Second， culture and leisure consumption boomed. Shows， concerts， museums， skating rings and hot springs were wildly popular choices for ringing in the New Year. Visitors for winter fun to Shenyang increased by 1.6 fold over last year， while the show market in Beijing pulled an audience of 146，000 with box office revenues of RMB 29 million.

Third， casual dining thrived. Restaurants lured consumers with special offers for family parties and New Year celebration and fresh menus complete with conveniences such as online booking and delivery. During the New Year holiday， Shaanxis catering reported RMB 1.18 billion in revenue， up 12.5% year on year. Sales of key restaurants in Beijing grew 10% over last year.

Fourth， daily necessities are in good supply at stable prices. The prices of grain and oil stayed largely at the same level as the week before the holiday. Meat prices were up slightly， with pork， beef and lamb up 0.1%， 0.1% and 0.2% respectively. Vegetables of thirty varieties were 0.5% more expensive on average.

Q： Recently shopping festivals for the New Year were organized throughout the country. How do we turn these New Year shopping festivals into better drivers of consumption and consumption upgrade？ What has the Ministry of Commerce done to this end？

A： The Spring Festival is around the corner. Based on their local consumer demands， many localities have organized a great variety of shopping events and New Year shopping festivals. Some provinces and cities have brought their local specialty products to Beijing， where they organized large shopping events for specialties， thus enriching Beijing residents consumption choices. These activities have enriched the holiday market， in- creased effective supply， satisfied the demand of the general public for New Year purchases， and played an important role in stimulating consumption and promoting consumption upgrade.

The Spring Festival is a consumption peak season. It is also a critical period for expanding consumption and promoting consumption upgrade. The Ministry of Commerce attaches great importance to ensuring supply in the holiday market， and has made special arrangements that require local commerce departments to strengthen organization and leadership and improve work plans to help companies broaden the supply channels and increase supply. At the same time， they are required to proactively set up public platforms to promote consumption， organize all forms of consumption promotion activities and match demand with supply. The Ministry of Commerce will continue to provide guidance and services for local activities for the sale of New Year goods， and create a sound atmosphere and conditions for enriching the New Year market and promoting consumption upgrade.

Q： The recently released 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Foreign Trade （the Plan） mentioned that China has no advantage in terms of manufacturing costs compared with other developing countries or even some regions in developed economies. The Plan also stressed to get rid of the obsession with numbers and speed. Does this mean that Chinas foreign trade will enter a long period of low speed growth？ What is the prospect for foreign trade growth this year？

A： Since the start of reform and opening-up， by taking full advantage of favorable internal and external conditions and opportunities， China has achieved rapid foreign trade growth for more than three decades and scored remarkable success. At present， as the world economic recovery climbs its uphill journey amid deep adjustments， Chinas economic development has entered the stage of new normal with weakened traditional advantages. Profound changes taken place in the international and domestic conditions have led Chinas foreign trade into a new stage.

Take export for an example， Chinas export value has stayed above US$ two trillion since 2012. China is by far the only country with an export bigger than US$ two trillion. Now Chinas monthly export value is about the same as its annual export value more than a decade ago， and the current annual export value of some developing countries. As costs of labor， land resources and other production factors in China go up and environmental bearing capacity has already reached or come close to its limit， the traditional advantages generated from low production costs have weakened notably. Faced with the new condition， we must unswervingly press ahead with supply side structural reform， accelerate the transformation of foreign trade development pattern， shift growth driver through restructuring， consolidate and improve traditional competitive advantages， foster new competitive advantages， promote the transition of foreign trade towards optimal import and export with premium quality and premium price， with a view to consolidating Chinas status as a major trading nation and developing the country through stronger trade.

In 2017， Chinas foreign trade still faces severe conditions. Sluggish external demand， rising trade protectionism and mounting uncertainties put foreign trade under increasing downward pressure. MOFCOM， together with relevant departments， will follow the instructions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council， and do our best to stabilize growth， carry out structural adjustments， and spend greater efforts in the implementation of relevant policies and measures in a bid to reduce the burdens of foreign trade enterprises and create a favorable external environment. MOFCOM will also provide strong support for companies to expand the international market and continue to carry out positive import policies among its efforts to maintain stable and sound foreign trade growth.

It is particularly worth mentioning that in this process， we should be strategic， keep composure， insist on innovation as growth drivers， consolidate the foundation for sustainable development， get rid of the obsession with numbers and speed， pay more attention to structural adjustments， and improve the new driving force of sustainable foreign trade growth by implementing supply side structural reform. We should put more emphasis on building legal， international and convenient business climate， stress supervision during and after implementation， promote trade facilitation， and set up a credibility system of foreign trade enterprises. We should pay closer attention to the combination of trade and industries， step up the coordination of policies on trade and industries， support companies to increase core competitiveness at the source， and promote the transformation and upgrading of processing trade. We should give two-way investment a bigger role to promote foreign trade， cultivate new advantages of FDI attraction with business climate as the centerpiece， speed up brand cultivation and the construction of international marketing service network， and foster multinational corporations. We should attach greater importance to deepening mutually beneficial international commercial cooperation， actively promoting the reform of global governance system， taking the lead in formulating international economic and trade rules， accelerating the implementation of FTA strategies， and actively responding to trade disputes.