Investment

The Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference on January 12. Spokesman Sun Jiwen answered the hotspot issues that concern media at home and abroad. Here is the record：

In January 2017， China has met the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Uzbekistan， Kazakhstan， Tajikistan， Kyrgyz and Turkmenistan consequently. In the past 25 years， the trade and economic cooperation between China and Central Asian countries has grown rapidly and showed a solid basis and sound prospect.

In 2016， the trade and economic cooperation between China and five central Asian countries showed many highlights mainly in the following aspects：

Bilateral trade was steady in general. China has become the largest trading partner of Kyrgyz and Turkmenistan and the second largest trading partner of Kazakhstan， Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

New progress has been made in capacity and economic and technological cooperation. Uzbekistan-Pap-Angren Railway undertaken by a Chinese enterprise was put into use. President Xi Jinping pointed out that it is a major fruit of the “Belt and Road”initiative jointly built by China and Uzbekistan and a new belt to connect the friendship of the peoples of both sides and the bilateral cooperation. The oil refineries and mineral projects that Chinese enterprises invested in Kyrgyz get on well. Bishkek Thermal Power Plant will be completed in advance hopefully. Tajikistan President has attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies for 9 times and Tajikistans social and economic development conditions have greatly improved projects like railway and tunnel， thermal power plant， aluminium smelters technology improving project， cement plant and oil refinery. Besides， we also made positive progress in projects of Astana light metro， auto resembling and polypropylene that Chinese business invested in Kazakhstan.

Connectivity cooperation on starts a new chapter. In January-November， the number of “CR Express”that went through central Asian countries increased 150% year on year， the first freight train that ran through China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Teheran was successfully launched and “Western China-Western Europe”international corridor project was accelerated， starting a new chapter of regional connectivity.

Financial cooperation is constantly deepened. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank， Silk Road Fund and China-Eurasia Economic Cooperation Fund are conducting project selection； Kazakhstan has incorporated RMB into its list of reserve currency and China and Kazakhstan are conducting cooperation in building Astana International Financial Center and Commodity Exchange； China-Kazakhstan Capacity Cooperation Fund was officially founded， and financial and insurance institutions of both sides have signed agreements on financing and cooperation， providing support for the implementation of major projects.

In 2017， the Ministry of Commerce will push forward to promote trade and economic cooperation with central Asian region， genuinely implement the economic consensus reached by leaders of both sides， strengthen policy docking， information exchange and project coordination with central Asian countries， jointly build the“Belt and Road”， deepen capacity cooperation， promote small and medium-sized enterprises cooperation and strive for more early harvests.

The 11th Negotiation of China-Japan-ROK FTA which was just closed has gained some progress. The three parties exchanged views on trade in goods， service trade， investment and rules.

China， Japan and ROK are all important economies in the world， whose GDP and foreign trade value accounted for 20% of the world total. Building ChinaJapan-ROK FTA contributes to giving full play of the industrial complementarity among the three countries， exploiting and promoting the potential of the trade and investment of the three countries， promoting further integration of regional value chain. It conforms to the overall interests of the tree countries and helps the prosperity and development of the region. In November 2015， the Trilateral Summit Meeting among China， Japan and ROK released the joint announcement， reiterating that China-Japan-ROK FTA would be further accelerated， and a comprehensive， high-level and reciprocal FTA agreement would be finally reached. In October 2016， the Economic and Trade Ministers Meeting among China， Japan and ROK vowed to promote the negotiation and seek the unique value of the FTA.

China always attached great attention to the negotiation of China-Japan-ROK negotiation， and is willing to make joint efforts with Japan and ROK. On the basis of taking full consideration of the development level and industrial competitiveness of the three countries， China is willing to expand consensus continuously， bridge over the disputes and implement the requirements of the leaders， so as to reach a comprehensive， high-level and reciprocal FTA.

Q： It is reported that President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Switzerland from January 15 to 18， during which he will attend the 2017 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos， Switzerland. Would you please brief us on the current status of China-Switzerland bilateral trade and economic relationship and its future prospect？

A： On the 15th to 18th of this month， President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Switzerland at the invitation of the President of the Swiss Confederation and attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. That the Chinese President chooses Switzerland as the first foreign country to visit in 2017 fully demonstrates how much value the leaders of both countries attach to developing the bilateral relationship. Switzerland is one of the first western countries to es- tablish diplomatic relations with China. It is also an important economic and trade partner of China in Europe. In April 2016， President Xi Jinping and the visiting then President of the Swiss Confederation jointly established an innovative strategic partnership between China and Switzerland. This was the first time for China to establish a partnership with other countries in innovation.

In recent years， the commercial relations between China and Switzerland have been developing steadily， with expanding trade， rapidly increasing two-way investment and closer financial cooperation， forming a new pattern of trade and economic cooperation featuring mutual complementarity， distinct features and mutual benefits. In particular， the Sino-Swiss Free Trade Agreement， since its entry into force in July 2014， has provided a strong guarantee for bilateral trade. At present， Switzerland is Chinas seventh largest trading partner in Europe， whereas China is Switzerlands largest trading partner in Asia.

Sino-Swiss two-way investment cooperation has been growing rapidly. According to Chinese statistics， as of November 2016， Switzerlands total cumulative investment in China reached 6.4 billion US dollars， making it Chinas seventh largest source of foreign investment in Europe. At the same time， the pace of Chinese investment growth in Switzerland has accelerated significantly as investment continues to expand into different industries， with a growing number of large-scale mergers& acquisitions.

A sound Sino-Swiss relationship has also vigorously promoted the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries. China and Switzerland set up an ecoindustrial park in Zhenjiang. Guizhou province and Switzerland held four sessions of the “Sino-Swiss Dialogue Sub-forum” during the Forum on Ecological Civilization in Guiyang.

Sino-Swiss trade and economic cooperation enjoys a solid footing and broad prospects. Going forward， China and Switzerland will be guided by the innovative strategic partnership， make good use of such mechanism platforms as the economic and trade joint committee， and ensure good implementation of the Sino-Swiss FTA. The two countries will further explore cooperation potentials in biomedicine， machinery manufacturing， watches， energy saving and environmental protection， financial services， tourism and others， to create synergies between Chinas market potential and the need for economic restructuring and upgrading with Switzerlands technology and innovative advantages， so as to elevate the bilateral commercial ties to a new level.