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The State Council held a press conference on the import and export situation in 2019. China Net Li Jiashe

The State Council Press Office held a press conference at 10am on Tuesday, January 14th, 2020, and invited Zou Zhiwu, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, to introduce the import and export situation in 2019 and take questions from reporters.

Shou Xiaoli, Information Bureau of the State Council Information Office：

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the press conference of the State Council Information Office. Today, we regularly release the economic data for the whole year. We are very pleased to invite Mr. Zou Zhiwu, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, to introduce the import and export situation in 2019 and answer your questions. Also present at today’s conference was Mr. Huang Guohua, Deputy Director of Statistics and Analysis Department of General Administration of Customs.

Next, please let Mr. Zou Zhiwu make an introduction.

Zou Zhiwu, Deputy Director of General Administration of Customs.China Net Li Jiashe

Zou Zhiwu, Deputy Director of General Administration of Customs.：

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and friends. Nice to meet you. Today is the first press conference of the Customs in the New Year. I would like to take this opportunity today to express my heartfelt thanks to the media friends for their concern, support and help in customs work in the past year. At the same time, I also take this opportunity to pay tribute to everyone in advance and wish you a happy New Year. Next, I will first report on China’s foreign trade import and export in 2019, and then answer your questions.

In 2019, the total import and export value of China’s goods trade was 31.54 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.4% over 2018. Among them, the export was 17.23 trillion yuan, an increase of 5%; Imports reached 14.31 trillion yuan, up by 1.6%; The trade surplus was 2.92 trillion yuan, an increase of 25.4%.

In the past year, the development of China’s foreign trade showed a trend of overall stability, stability and quality improvement Specifically, there are six characteristics:

First, the scale of import and export is rising quarter by quarter. The import and export value in the first quarter of 2019 was 7.03 trillion yuan, 7.68 trillion yuan in the second quarter, 8.26 trillion yuan in the third quarter and 8.59 trillion yuan in the fourth quarter. In December, it reached 3.01 trillion yuan, and the year-on-year growth rate in December reached double digits, which was 12.7%. Among them, exports were 1.67 trillion yuan, an increase of 9%; Imports reached 1.34 trillion yuan, up by 17.7%. In December, the scale of foreign trade import and export, export and import all reached a monthly historical peak.

Second, the ranking of major trading partners has changed, and ASEAN has become China’s second largest trading partner. In 2019, the largest trading partner was still the European Union, with an import and export of 4.86 trillion yuan to the EU, an increase of 8%; Import and export to ASEAN was 4.43 trillion yuan, an increase of 14.1%; Imports and exports to the United States were 3.73 trillion yuan, down 10.7%; The fourth largest trading partner is Japan, with imports and exports to Japan reaching 2.17 trillion yuan, up 0.4%. In addition, China’s import and export to countries along the "Belt and Road" was 9.27 trillion yuan, up 10.8%, 7.4 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate.

Third, private enterprises surpassed foreign-invested enterprises for the first time and became the largest foreign trade subject in China. In 2019, the import and export of private enterprises was 13.48 trillion yuan, up 11.4%, accounting for 42.7% of China’s total foreign trade, up 3.1 percentage points from 2018. Among them, exports were 8.9 trillion yuan, an increase of 13%; Imports reached 4.58 trillion yuan, up by 8.4%. The import and export of foreign-invested enterprises reached 12.57 trillion yuan, accounting for 39.9% of China’s total foreign trade. The import and export of state-owned enterprises was 5.32 trillion yuan, accounting for 16.9%.

Fourth, the structure of trade mode has been further optimized, and the proportion of import and export of general trade has increased. In 2019, China’s general trade import and export was 18.61 trillion yuan, up 5.6%, accounting for 59% of China’s total foreign trade, up 1.2 percentage points from 2018. Among them, exports were 9.95 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.8%; Imports reached 8.66 trillion yuan, up by 3.1%. The import and export of processing trade was 7.95 trillion yuan, down 5.1%, accounting for 25.2%.

Fifth, the export commodities are mainly mechanical and electrical products and labor-intensive products, and the proportion of mechanical and electrical products is close to 60%. Last year, China exported 10.06 trillion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, up 4.4%, accounting for 58.4% of the total export value. Among them, the export of electrical and electronic products was 4.63 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.4%; Mechanical equipment was 2.87 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.4%. In the same period, seven categories of labor-intensive products, such as textiles and clothing, exported 3.31 trillion yuan, up 6.1%.

Sixth, the import of iron ore, crude oil, natural gas, soybeans and other bulk commodities increased. In 2019, China imported 1.069 billion tons of iron ore, an increase of 0.5%; Imported crude oil was 506 million tons, up by 9.5%; Imported natural gas was 96.56 million tons, an increase of 6.9%; Imported soybeans reached 88.51 million tons, up by 0.5%. In addition, the import of meat products grew rapidly, with 2.108 million tons of pork imported in the whole year, an increase of 75%; Imported beef was 1.659 million tons, an increase of 59.7%.

This is the main feature of China’s foreign trade in 2019.

In recent years, the Customs has conscientiously implemented the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, greatly reduced the overall customs clearance time, continuously deepened the "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services" reform, and continuously optimized the port business environment. In 2019, the overall customs clearance time of China’s imports and exports was reduced by 42.3% and 42.4% respectively compared with 2018, and the time was 41.4 hours and 4 hours. This time is greatly reduced compared with 2018.

On the whole, China’s foreign trade import and export achieved a steady increase in quantity and a steady improvement in quality last year, with the risk challenges at home and abroad rising obviously. At present, the world economic growth continues to slow down and uncertainties are increasing. Under the guidance of the Supreme Leader Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the New Era, the Customs will fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second, Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions of the 19th National Congress and the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, adhere to the general tone of striving for progress while maintaining stability, take the supply-side structural reform as the main line, implement the requirements of "six stabilities" such as stabilizing foreign trade and foreign investment, and continuously optimize the port business environment. Promote a higher level of opening to the outside world, promote the steady growth and high-quality development of foreign trade, better serve the overall economic and social development of the country, and contribute to the establishment of a well-off society in an all-round way.

Thank you all.

Shouxiaoli：

Let’s enter the question session. Please inform your news organization before asking questions.

Reporter from CCTV News Center of Central Radio and Television General Station:

The latest data just released shows that the total value of foreign trade import and export in 2019 increased by 3.4% year-on-year. What do you think is the main reason for the contrarian growth of China’s foreign trade? In addition, in the face of the complicated and severe economic environment at home and abroad, what kind of judgment do you have on China’s foreign trade trend in 2020? Thank you.

Zou Zhiwu：

Thank you for your question. In 2019, the external environment of China’s foreign trade development was indeed complicated and severe, the world economic growth continued to slow down, and the risk challenges at home and abroad increased significantly. However, under such circumstances, China’s foreign trade still maintains a steady growth, and it is in a steady development trend of improving quality. Now that the domestic figures have come out, some international figures need to be looked at again. From our preliminary analysis, China is still expected to maintain its position as the world’s largest country in goods trade in 2019. Just now, we said that our import and export increased by 3.4%, which was denominated in RMB, and the total value in US dollars decreased slightly, but our exports still showed a positive growth of 0.5%. According to the latest data of the first ten months of WTO, China’s exports are the best among the top ten trading countries in the world.

When it comes to reasons, I think there are mainly the following three aspects:

First, the domestic economy is stable. The basic trend of China’s economic stability and long-term improvement has not changed. According to the data of the first 11 months, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 5.6% year-on-year, the total retail sales of social consumer goods increased by 8% year-on-year, and the investment in fixed assets increased by 5.2% year-on-year. The annual GDP will still maintain rapid growth, and the growth rate is obviously ahead of other major economies in the world. We have the strong leadership of the Party, the remarkable advantages of the Socialism with Chinese characteristics system, the solid material and technical foundation accumulated since the reform and opening up, the super-large-scale market advantage and domestic demand potential, and the stable performance of the domestic economy has laid a solid foundation for the growth of foreign trade. I think this is the main reason.

Second, China’s overall economic resilience is relatively strong, which is also reflected in the field of foreign trade. China’s economy has strong resilience, potential and room for maneuver, and this resilience is equally available in the field of foreign trade. We are the largest manufacturing country in the world and have a complete industrial system. Our output of more than 220 kinds of industrial products ranks first in the world, and domestic industries provide strong support for the development of foreign trade. We have a large number of foreign trade enterprises. Last year, there were 499,000 foreign trade enterprises with actual import and export activities. In particular, private enterprises with more flexible production and operation have released stronger vitality for foreign trade development. Just now, we also said that one of the characteristics of foreign trade in 2019 is that private enterprises surpassed foreign-funded enterprises for the first time to become the largest foreign trade subject, of which exports accounted for more than 50%. At the same time, our trading partners are all over the world, and more flowers are blooming. In 2019, while our major trading partners such as the European Union and ASEAN grew, our imports and exports to countries along the Belt and Road, as well as emerging economic markets such as Africa and Latin America increased by 10.8%, 6.8% and 8% respectively.

The third is the sustained release of the effect of stabilizing foreign trade policies. Since 2018, China has introduced a series of policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment, and introduced unprecedented tax reduction and fee reduction policies, effectively reducing the burden on enterprises. After the introduction of these policies, they have been effective one after another, including raising the export tax rebate rate of some products twice, independently reducing the import tariffs on consumer goods, canceling the import tariffs on some drugs, etc., and the policy effects have been continuously released. For example, in 2019, the export value of commodities involving two increases in export tax rebates increased by 7.7%. The effect after tax reduction is also obvious. In 2019, the import of consumer goods and pharmaceuticals increased by 19% and 25.8% respectively. At the same time, China has comprehensively deepened the "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services" reform, effectively stimulated the vitality of market players, continuously optimized the port business environment, and improved the level of cross-border trade facilitation. According to the report released by the World Bank, in 2019, the global ranking of China’s state-owned business environment cross-border trade indicators increased by 9 places on the basis of 32 places in 2018, and rose to the 56th place in the world. There is no specific customs clearance time and efficiency between EU countries, which are all zero, so it is ranked according to 28. If this is calculated according to an economy, our ranking will be greatly improved.

Regarding the foreign trade situation in 2020, I believe that the current world economic growth continues to slow down, and it is still in the period of deep adjustment after the international financial crisis. The global economic uncertainty and risk challenges have increased significantly, and the external environment facing foreign trade development is still severe and complicated. However, with the deepening of supply-side structural reform, the domestic "six stable" policies and measures have continued to take effect, the business environment has continued to improve, the vitality of market players has been continuously enhanced, the foreign trade structure has been continuously optimized, and the long-term trend of accelerating power conversion has not changed. It is expected that China’s foreign trade will continue to maintain a steady growth trend in 2020, and high-quality development will reach a new level. Thank you.

Guangming Daily reporter：

Just now, we noticed that China’s foreign trade import and export increased significantly in December 2019, with a year-on-year growth rate of double digits. We really want to know what the specific reason is. Thank you.

Zou Zhiwu：

Thank you for your question. Please ask Director Huang to answer this question.

Huang Guohua, Deputy Director of Statistics and Analysis Department of General Administration of Customs. China Net Li Jiashe

Huang Guohua, Deputy Director of Statistics and Analysis Department of General Administration of Customs:

Thank you for your question. In December 2019, China’s foreign trade import and export reached double-digit growth, and both foreign trade exports and imports reached historical monthly highs. Our analysis mainly has the following reasons:

First, since November 2019, China’s manufacturing PMI has expanded for two consecutive months, driving the import of some raw materials and energy products to increase. For example, in December, the import volume of iron ore, copper ore and refined oil increased by 17.2%, 31.9% and 10% respectively, pushing up the import scale.

Second, the average import price of some commodities has risen due to the rising international market prices. For example, the average import price of iron ore increased by 18% in December, which promoted the overall import growth by 1.5 percentage points when the import volume increased by 17.2%.

Third, the Sino-US economic and trade consultation has released a positive signal, and corporate confidence has increased. In December, the export of toys, plastic products and furniture increased by 26.1%, 22.7% and 14.2% respectively. The General Administration of Customs conducts an online questionnaire survey of 3,000 foreign trade enterprises every month. The survey data in November and December show that the number of enterprises that are optimistic about the export situation in the next two to three months is increasing, and the number increased in December reached the highest value since the second half of 2018.

In addition, there is another reason. In December 2018, China’s import and export declined by 1.4%. In other words, the year-on-year base in December 2018 is relatively low, and the foreign trade in December 2019 has the nature of recovery growth.

Thank you.

Bloomberg News reporter:

I have two questions. The first question, you just mentioned that if the total foreign trade volume last year was denominated in US dollars, it was relatively slightly lower, which was different from that in RMB. What I want to ask is, what is the US dollar exchange rate used in calculating the total foreign trade in 2019? Second, with the signing of the first-stage economic and trade agreement between China and the United States, China has also agreed to further expand its imports from the United States. Can this be achieved without affecting imports from other countries and regions? Will China reduce imports from other regions to expand its imports to the United States, or can it achieve these two goals while expanding the total foreign trade?

Zou Zhiwu:

Thank you for your two questions. The first question about pricing, I’d like to ask Secretary Huang to answer it. I’ll answer the second question.

Huang Guohua:

Thank you. China Customs’ foreign trade statistics are based on international rules and local currency, and our statistics and release are based on RMB. At the same time, for international comparison, we also count the import and export data of US dollar value.

You mentioned the exchange rate just now. What exchange rate is used? We declare each ticket in the import and export declaration form, regardless of the currency. We calculate the RMB value and the US dollar value of this ticket of imported or exported goods at the same time according to the conversion exchange rate published by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange every month, instead of using an average exchange rate for conversion in the last year.

Zou Zhiwu:

Just now, Director Huang also said that this statistical method is the practice of international trade statistics, and all countries adopt this method, that is, trade statistics are measured in their own currencies. As you said just now, with the signing of the economic and trade agreement in the first stage of Sino-US trade consultation, this is the case with Sino-US trade and China’s imports from other countries. According to the overall data of the whole year, the trade between China and the United States declined last year, which was already mentioned in my introduction earlier.

Since November and December last year, imports from the United States have resumed growth, especially in December, when imports reached 78.83 billion yuan, an increase of 9.1%, including agricultural products imports of 14.1 billion yuan, a two-fold increase; 23,000 cars were imported, an increase of 1.5 times. On December 6th, last year, the State Council Customs Tariff Commission, based on the application of relevant enterprises, carried out the work of excluding soybeans, pork and other goods purchased from the United States, and took measures such as not imposing counter-tariffs on the excluded goods. In the month of December, imports of American soybeans and pork all increased significantly.

The Sino-US trade friction you mentioned just now has really put pressure on China’s foreign trade and foreign trade enterprises with the United States as the main market. Although our exports to the United States have declined, enterprises have achieved remarkable results in exploring diversified markets. The export growth to non-American markets has increased, and the overall export has maintained growth. We believe that with the upcoming signing of the first-stage economic and trade agreement between China and the United States, it will be of great positive significance not only to China, the United States, but also to the whole world, regardless of trade or future economic expectations. If we expand our imports from the United States after signing the first agreement, will it affect the exports of other countries and markets to China? I’m sure not. Because China has a huge market, our trade is diversified. I believe that with the joint efforts of China and the United States, Sino-US economic and trade relations will make new progress on the basis of mutual benefit and win-win, which is beneficial not only to China and the United States, but also to the trade and economic development of all countries in the world. Thank you.

Guoguang reporter from Central Radio and Television General Station:

I would like to ask you to introduce the latest situation of foreign trade import and export in China and countries along the Belt and Road. In addition, what are the highlights of the customs work? How will the "three-intelligence cooperation" of "smart customs, smart borders and smart connectivity" serve the construction of the "Belt and Road"? Thank you.

Zou Zhiwu：

Thank you for your question. First of all, I will answer your question about our foreign trade import and export with countries along the Belt and Road.

Since the "One Belt, One Road" initiative was put forward, the trade scale between China and countries along the "Belt and Road" has continued to expand. From 2014 to 2019, the total trade value exceeded 44 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 6.1%. China has become the largest trading partner of 25 countries along the route. Last year, the total import and export value between China and countries along the Belt and Road was 9.27 trillion yuan, up by 10.8%, which was 7.4 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of foreign trade, accounting for nearly 30% of the total import and export value, and the proportion of the total import and export value was 2 percentage points higher than that in 2018. It can be seen that our trade with countries along the Belt and Road has shown a very good momentum of development.

The General Administration of Customs has earnestly implemented and promoted the cooperation between customs and relevant regulatory authorities in countries along the Belt and Road, including our cooperation with customs inspection and quarantine in countries along the route to promote trade facilitation and safeguard national security. Last year, we signed 198 cooperation documents on customs inspection and quarantine, involving 89 countries along the Belt and Road. As of last year, China Customs has signed AEO mutual recognition arrangements with 42 countries (regions) in 15 economies, and the number of countries (regions) with mutual recognition ranks first in the world, including 18 countries along the Belt and Road, expanding the "single window" function and application scenarios of international trade, systematically connecting with 25 ministries and commissions, sharing data, and providing nearly 600 enterprise services in 16 categories, including goods declaration and tax payment. With Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Mongolia and other countries, seven "green channels" for rapid customs clearance of agricultural and sideline products at border ports have been opened one after another, promoting the "Belt and Road" China-Europe postal train, and jointly carrying out vector monitoring with countries bordering the "Belt and Road" to jointly promote the construction of a healthy "Silk Road".

Just now, you also mentioned the "three intelligences", namely "smart customs, smart borders and smart connectivity". This was put forward by Mr. Ni Yuefeng, Director of the General Administration of Customs, during the "Belt and Road" international cooperation summit forum last year. The "Three Intelligences" with intelligent construction as the core is a brand-new concept of cooperation between national customs, as a pragmatic measure for the high-quality development of the "Belt and Road" cooperation of customs services. With the release of the "Three Intellectuals" white paper "Initiative to jointly promote the construction and cooperation of" Smart Customs, Smart Border and Smart Access ",China Customs will deepen its cooperation with foreign countries, build a" Belt and Road "customs information exchange and sharing platform with more countries, speed up the construction and docking of" single window "in international trade, and promote the" Three Intelligences "cooperation along the Belt and Road. Thank you.

Phoenix TV reporter：

We are concerned that in this data, private enterprises have become the largest foreign trade subject in China. Specifically, what are the characteristics of private enterprises in import and export in 2019? What new measures does the General Administration of Customs have to support the import and export of private enterprises? Thank you.

Zou Zhiwu：

Thank you for your question. Just now, in 2019, private enterprises became the largest subject of China’s foreign trade. We believe that there are mainly several aspects in terms of highlights or characteristics:

First, the vitality of private enterprises has improved. In 2019, the number of private enterprises with import and export performance reached 406,000, an increase of 8.7% over the previous year. At present, the significant increase in the number of private enterprises reflects the continuous optimization of the domestic business environment and is an important manifestation of the endogenous motivation and development vitality of China’s foreign trade. In 2019, the import and export of private enterprises increased by 11.4%, driving the growth of foreign trade by 4.5 percentage points.

Second, private enterprises in the central and western regions developed rapidly. With the help of the "Belt and Road Initiative" and the comparative advantages of regional comprehensive costs, the import and export of private enterprises grew faster in the central and western regions. In 2019, the import and export growth rate of private enterprises in the central and western regions reached 28.3% and 22.4% respectively, which was 19.5 percentage points and 13.6 percentage points higher than that in the eastern region. In 2019, the top four provinces in terms of import and export growth of private enterprises were all located in the central and western regions, namely Tibet, Hunan, Guangxi and Anhui.

Third, the efforts of private enterprises to explore emerging markets have been continuously enhanced. In 2019, the export of private enterprises to all major markets showed a growth trend. While maintaining their traditional market advantages, their exports to emerging markets such as ASEAN, Latin America and Africa increased by 25.6%, 11.4% and 15.6% respectively, which were also higher than the national export growth rate to these three markets.

The Customs has conscientiously implemented the central decision-making arrangements and strived to create a better development environment for private enterprises. For example, we have introduced many measures that are beneficial to private enterprises, because small and micro enterprises account for a relatively high proportion of private enterprises, and they are under certain pressure in terms of capital turnover, tax payment and financing. In view of this situation, we have introduced the reform of tariff guarantee insurance, and introduced the commercial insurance mechanism to the payment of taxes. Private enterprises have benefited the most from this reform and participated the most. This reform makes it clear that enterprises with general credit rating and above can use tariff guarantee insurance to guarantee their customs clearance and tax payment. This can reduce the financing cost of enterprises, because it is guaranteed, customs clearance procedures can be completed in time, and customs clearance efficiency is greatly improved. For another example, the Customs has implemented the central government’s decision to reduce taxes and fees. At present, it has completely abolished administrative fees, set up a fee publicity column on the portal website according to regulations, and publicized it on the Internet, urging all units to implement the fee publicity work, so as to achieve "no publicity, no fees" and effectively reduce the tax burden of private enterprises.

In the next step, we will continue to implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference and a series of work arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to support the development of private enterprises. We are also prepared to study and introduce specific measures specifically aimed at the concerns of private foreign trade enterprises, study more specific, targeted and beneficial support measures for enterprises, do our best to do a good job in customs supervision and service, and further optimize the business environment of private enterprises. Thank you.

Indian Broadcasting Corporation reporter：

I have two questions. First, can you introduce the data of bilateral trade between China and India in 2019? Second, what measures will China take to reduce the Indian trade deficit with China?

Zou Zhiwu：

Thank you for your question. Please ask Director Huang to answer this question.

Huang Guohua：

According to our statistics, the total trade volume between China and India in 2019 was 639.52 billion yuan, up 1.6% year-on-year, of which China exported 515.63 billion yuan to India, up 2.1%, and imported 123.89 billion yuan from India, down 0.2%, with a trade surplus of 391.74 billion yuan. China and India are both important emerging economies. Strengthening exchanges and cooperation is of great significance to both countries and will also promote global progress and prosperity.

Last October, the Chairman of the Supreme Leader was invited to India to attend the second informal meeting between Chinese and Indian leaders, which strengthened the deep communication between China and India and promoted mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields. At present, China’s export products have a strong competitive advantage in the Indian market. At the same time, we also welcome more Indian quality products to enter the big market in China. We believe that deepening economic and trade cooperation between the two countries will help promote the healthier, stable and balanced development of Sino-Indian trade. Thank you.

China news service reporter：

We have noticed that China recently issued the Guiding Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Promoting High-quality Trade Development. Excuse me, what new progress has China’s foreign trade made in high-quality development in 2019? Thank you.

Zou Zhiwu：

Thank you for your question. Last year, China’s foreign trade developed with high quality, and the trend of improving quality was obvious. I think it is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

First, the structure of trade mode has been continuously optimized. In 2019, the import and export of general trade with longer industrial chain, higher added value and better reflecting the independent development ability of enterprises increased by 5.6%, accounting for 59% of China’s foreign trade import and export, which was 1.2 percentage points higher than that in 2018.

Second, the new kinetic energy of trade has been significantly enhanced. Last year, China’s new foreign trade formats such as cross-border e-commerce continued to develop vigorously, with the import and export through the customs cross-border e-commerce management platform reaching 186.21 billion yuan, an increase of 38.3%. The import and export of market procurement was 562.95 billion yuan, an increase of 19.7%. Together, they contribute nearly 14% to the overall foreign trade growth.

Third, the trade market is more diversified. While continuing to deepen the traditional export market, our enterprise continues to explore emerging markets with remarkable results. Just now we talked about the "Belt and Road". In 2019, the proportion of China’s exports to countries along the "Belt and Road" and Latin American countries increased, which is an obvious result in opening up new markets.

Fourth, the international competitive advantage has been significantly improved. In 2019, China’s export commodity price index rose by 2.8%, the import commodity price index rose by 1.4%, and the terms of trade index was 101.4, indicating that we can export as many commodities in exchange for more commodities. From this perspective, our competitive advantage has been further improved. According to the latest data of WTO, from January to September 2019, the global market share of China’s electromechanical products and labor-intensive products increased by 0.2 and 0.9 percentage points respectively. At the same time, the export of some products with high added value maintained a good growth trend. For example, last year, China’s exports of integrated circuits increased by 25.3%, exports of semiconductor devices increased by 26.3%, exports of solar cells increased by 47.5%, and metal processing machine tools increased by nearly 15%. The effect of export brand building is also remarkable. Last year, the export of self-owned brand goods was 2.9 trillion yuan, up by 12%, accounting for nearly 17% of the total export value, which was also 1.1 percentage points higher than that in 2018.

Fifth, the import of consumer products for people’s livelihood grew rapidly. Last year, we successfully held the second China International Import Expo(CIIE), lowered the VAT rate on import links, abolished some import tariffs on drugs, and actively expanded the import of consumer goods, enriching the domestic supply of goods and better meeting the people’s growing needs for a better life. In 2019, China’s imports of consumer goods increased by 19%, including imports of fruits, cosmetics and aquatic products, which increased significantly, reaching 39.8%, 38.8% and 37.6%. The import of electric manned vehicles has increased by 1.2 times, and the import of vaccines for human use has increased by nearly 90%, which shows that our huge consumer market has played a very important role in promoting the import growth of consumer goods. Thank you.

American international market news agency reporter：

This morning, the United States revoked China’s designation as a currency manipulator. Excuse me, what impact will this incident have on China’s exports this year? Could you tell us in detail what the export situation will be like this year? Thank you.

Zou Zhiwu：

On this issue, I want to say a simple sentence: correct choice and positive significance.

As for export, with the signing of the first phase agreement between China and the United States, I believe it will have a positive impact on the trade between the two countries and even the world trade, which is good news. Thank you.

Indian Press Trust reporter：

I have two questions. First, from your introduction just now, it was said that the bilateral trade between China and India increased by 1.6% compared with the previous year, but in fact, at the beginning of last year, there was a general expectation that Sino-Indian trade would exceed the $100 billion mark in 2019. What caused the final figure of bilateral trade between China and India to be lower than expected? Second, can you tell us the data of India’s exports to China, such as the number of Indian medicine exports to China?

Zou Zhiwu：

Thank you for your question. On the issue of bilateral trade between China and India, Director Huang has given a general answer. Some specific questions you asked, especially those about specific products, can be communicated with you later. Thank you.

Shouxiaoli：

Last two questions.

Economic Daily reporter：

Just now Director Zou mentioned that China’s foreign trade is still facing severe internal and external challenges. In the next step, from what aspects will the customs promote the steady growth and development of foreign trade? Thank you.

Zou Zhiwu：

Thank you for your question. In recent years, the national customs has resolutely implemented the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee on promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and introduced a series of reform measures to continuously optimize the business environment at ports and promote the stability and quality improvement of foreign trade. Let me first introduce the main work we have done:

First, we will continue to deepen the "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services" reform. Cancel 92 of the 116 certificates in the customs clearance process, further streamline the administrative examination and approval items, and realize the full coverage of the pilot project of "separation of licenses" for business licenses related to enterprises. At the same time, we have further simplified the import and export supervision documents, and the number of supervision documents verified at the port has been reduced from 86 to 44. Except for a few cases involving security and confidentiality, all of them have implemented online verification, thus eliminating the need for enterprises to go through relevant cumbersome procedures with paper certificates. At the same time, we have reduced the statutory inspection catalogue, and implemented the first release and then inspection of imported bulk resource commodities, which greatly reduced the time for enterprises to detain goods in Hong Kong, and put them on the arrival of the goods, and then conduct random inspection afterwards. We have further deepened "double randomness and one openness", and all matters that can be made public have been made public. Now, we have made public 29 items randomly selected by administrative inspections.

Second, with the entry of inspection and quarantine functions and teams into the customs, we will have a chemical reaction in accordance with the requirements of the central authorities, especially the reform proposed by the General Secretary of the Supreme Leader. We have combined the original requirements, documents, certificates, items to be filled in and the original items to be declared, and now we have reduced the original 200 items to 105 items. At the same time, we have implemented five innovations in accordance with the practices of some advanced countries, such as the "two-step declaration" reform now. After the goods arrive, we only need to make a summary declaration based on logistics-related information, and only fill in nine items to go through customs clearance procedures first. Within 14 days, enterprises can make a complete declaration after taking delivery of the goods, which greatly saves the time occupied by enterprises in customs declaration and also reduces the expenses brought by enterprises in the detention of goods in Hong Kong.

The third is to actively serve the regional development of the country. Fully support the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port and study the customs supervision plan. We have formulated customs supervision, statistical methods and support measures for Yangshan Special Comprehensive Insurance Zone, supported the construction of Lingang New Area in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, supported the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, formulated 26 customs support measures, and established a specialized integrated working mechanism for customs in the Yangtze River Delta region. We have conscientiously implemented the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area construction plan, established cooperation mechanisms between the mainland and Hong Kong, the mainland and Macao customs and other port supervision departments, and introduced special measures.

The fourth is to promote the high-quality development of the comprehensive bonded zone. We conscientiously implemented the Opinions of the State Council on Promoting High-level Opening and High-quality Development of Comprehensive Insurance Zone, coordinated relevant departments to formulate more than 20 supporting measures and methods, and promoted the implementation of relevant measures as soon as possible. Last year, the total value of first-line import and export of enterprises in the national comprehensive insurance zone reached 2.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 13%, and the growth rate of import and export of enterprises in the comprehensive insurance zone was also 9.7 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of the country. In the first line of the comprehensive insurance zone, there are more than 2,500 enterprises with import and export performance, with a year-on-year increase of 25.3%.

The fifth is to innovate the supervision system and promote the development of new formats. We actively adapt to the development of emerging formats, such as the foreign trade integrated service platform, and the market procurement just mentioned, especially for the needs of cross-border e-commerce development. Recently, we have just formulated and implemented a method for cross-border e-commerce return, smoothing the export return channels of cross-border e-commerce, and making cross-border e-commerce products go out and return. At present, it has been piloted in more than a dozen customs, and will soon be pushed across the country.

Sixth, support small and medium-sized enterprises. When I talked about private enterprises just now, I have already introduced this work.

In the new year, according to the requirements of the central authorities and the specific deployment of "six stabilities", we will also introduce measures. One is to further refine and implement the reform measures that have been introduced, and the other is to study and formulate more targeted reform plans according to the actual needs of enterprises. Generally speaking, it is necessary to fulfill the "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services" requirements, truly carry out the customs reform, especially the deep integration reform after the inspection and quarantine are integrated into the customs, truly follow the requirements of generating chemical reactions, and promote the customs management according to the goal of optimization, coordination and efficiency. Thank you.

Xinhua news agency reporter：

I want to ask a question about the upcoming visit to Myanmar by the Chairman of the Supreme Leader. Please tell us about the trade situation between China and Myanmar in 2019 and what arrangements will China and Myanmar have in foreign trade this year? In addition, just now you mentioned that the private economy has become the largest foreign trade subject, especially the private enterprises in the central and western regions are very dynamic, but the data doesn’t seem to mention the foreign trade performance of the eastern, central and western regions, including the northeast in 2019. Can you briefly introduce it? Thank you.

Zou Zhiwu：

The situation of China-Myanmar trade will be introduced by Director Huang later. Generally speaking, the development of China-Myanmar trade is wide-ranging and carried out in many aspects, and the progress is very good. I will give you a specific data about the situation of private enterprises in eastern and western regions after the meeting. Thank you.

Huang Guohua：

Let me introduce the bilateral trade between China and Myanmar. Last year, the import and export of China and Myanmar was 128.91 billion yuan, up by 28.5% year-on-year, the export was 84.9 billion yuan, up by 22.1%, and the import was 44.01 billion yuan, up by 42.8%. As friendly neighbors, China and Myanmar have a high degree of political mutual trust, deep economic cooperation and close cooperation on international and regional issues. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 70 years ago, China-Myanmar relations have been developing on the basis of mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual assistance, setting a good example for countries big and small to live in harmony and win-win cooperation. President Supreme Leader’s visit will deepen China-Myanmar interconnection and cooperation. The two sides will deepen high-quality cooperation in building the "Belt and Road" and promote the positive progress of major projects in the three-terminal support and interconnection of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor for the benefit of the two countries and their peoples. Thank you.

Shouxiaoli：

Thank you two publishers, thank you journalists. That’s all for today’s press conference.