Xing Huina:

The last question, please.

Xinhua News Agency:

Could you brief us on the key achievements of high-quality BRI cooperation in the economic and trade sectors and share future plans? Thank you.

Li Yongjie:

Thank you for your question. Since 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important statements on promoting high-quality BRI cooperation, providing direction and a framework for economic and trade cooperation with Belt and Road partner countries. Conscientiously following and implementing his directives, we have made major progress in continuously deepening pragmatic economic and trade cooperation with partner countries. I'd like to elaborate on this by focusing on the following three aspects:

First, the scale of our cooperation has continued to expand. From 2018 to 2023, our trade in goods with BRI partner countries grew from $1.9 trillion to $2.8 trillion, representing an average annual growth rate of 8.1% and increasing the share of the total trade from 40.6% to 46.6%. In the first half of this year, our trade in goods with BRI countries reached $1.4 trillion, accounting for 47.4% of total trade. From 2018 to 2023, our cumulative direct investment in these countries reached $180 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 5.9%. In the first half of this year, our non-financial direct investment in these countries reached $15.46 billion, accounting for 21.3% of our total outbound investment. From 2018 to 2023, the cumulative value of newly signed construction contracts with partner countries reached $1.3 trillion, and the actual turnover of Chinese contractors reached $800 billion. In the first half of this year, these figures were $93.35 billion and $58.92 billion, respectively, both exceeding 80% of the total.

Second, the quality of our cooperation has been steadily improving. Our trade structure has been consistently optimized. We have expanded exports of equipment and component parts with partner countries, contributing to local industrial growth. For example, our exports of electronic components, general machinery equipment and medical equipment in the first half of the year have seen rapid growth. At the same time, we have actively expanded imports of agricultural and industrial products from partner countries, providing them greater access to China's vast market. For example, in the first half of the year, we saw rapid import growth in agricultural products like dried and fresh fruits, nuts, barley and wheat as well as industrial products like automobile components. Our cooperation with partner countries has also expanded into new areas. We've signed investment and cooperation agreements with 42 partner countries in green development, the digital economy, and the blue economy. Moreover, we are actively expanding industrial cooperation in areas such as new energy vehicles and photovoltaics. The number of partner countries participating in our Silk Road e-commerce program has grown to 33. The quality of our cooperation projects has also seen significant improvements. Besides the completion of landmark projects like the China-Laos Railway we have introduced various "small and beautiful" livelihood projects related to agriculture, education and health care. We continue to enhance sustainability in BRI development. In the first half of this year, the value of new contracts for energy-saving and environmentally friendly projects grew by nearly 70%.

Third, the form of our cooperation has been diversified. We have strengthened communication with partner countries through bilateral mechanisms. We have established trade facilitation working groups with 24 partner countries, investment cooperation working groups with 64 partner countries, and joint venture mechanisms for trade in services with seven partner countries. We have also signed economic and trade agreements to unlock institutional advantages. We have signed 15 free trade agreements with partner countries and recently concluded bilateral investment agreements with countries like Angola. We are also leveraging platforms such as exhibitions and forums to deepen cooperation. We have successfully hosted six editions of the CIIE, attracting over 7,000 enterprises from Belt and Road partner countries. Additionally, we have achieved fruitful results in advancing cooperation and deepening exchanges through the China-Arab Cooperation Forum and the China-Africa Cooperation Forum.

Going forward, MOFCOM will continue to implement the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping on BRI cooperation, the major reform initiatives from the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, improve the mechanism for high-quality BRI cooperation, and carry out the eight major measures for supporting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, delivering real and substantive results for all participants. Thank you.

Xing Huina:

Due to time constraints, today's press conference is hereby concluded. Thank you to the four speakers and friends from the media. Goodbye.

Translated and edited by Xu Xiaoxuan, Wang Yiming, Wang Qian, Liu Caiyi, Zhou Jing, Liu Sitong, Wang Yanfang, Yan Bin, Yan Xiaoqing, Yang Xi, Ma Yujia, Liao Jiaxin, Guo Yiming, Li Huiru, Wang Ziteng, Wang Wei, David Ball, Jay Birbeck, and Rochelle Beiersdorfer. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.