Ministry of Commerce: Stabilize exports and expand imports with more practical measures.

On June 11, the Ministry of Commerce held a routine press conference. The Ministry of Commerce spokesperson, He Yadong, stated at the conference that this year, in the face of a complex and severe international political and economic situation, China's foreign trade has withstood pressure and continued to maintain a good momentum of steady progress. From January to May, the total value of goods trade imports and exports was 20.68 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.3% year-on-year. Imports increased by 20.5% and exports increased by 11.8%. Regardless of how complex the external environment is or how it changes, China will firmly promote high-level opening up to the outside world, stabilize exports, expand imports with more pragmatic measures, and inject more stability and positive energy into the world economy. The original text is as follows: The Ministry of Commerce held a routine press conference on June 11, 2026. [He Yadong]: Fellow journalists: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Ministry of Commerce's routine press conference. Today, I have no information to report to you all. I am now ready to answer questions from journalists. Please go ahead and ask questions. [Economic Reference News Reporter]: The foreign trade data for the first five months has been released. How does the Ministry of Commerce view the overall performance and structural highlights of China's foreign trade? [He Yadong]: Thank you for your question. This year, in the face of a complex and severe international political and economic situation, China's foreign trade has withstood pressure and continued to maintain a good momentum of steady progress. From January to May, the total value of goods trade imports and exports was 20.68 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.3% year-on-year. Imports increased by 20.5% and exports increased by 11.8%. Overall, China's foreign trade has shown many highlights. First, the potential of imports continues to be unleashed. From January to May, the scale of imports reached a historical high for the same period. Imports of high-tech products increased by 31.2%, while bulk commodities and consumer goods also maintained fast growth. China's super-large market advantages continue to emerge, providing trade partners with broad development space. Second, the export structure continues to optimize. Thanks to a complete and efficient production and supply chain system, China's goods supply is stable, of reliable quality, and technologically advanced, with global recognition continually rising. From January to May, the export of electromechanical products increased by 18.4%, accounting for over 63%. The export of integrated circuits performed strongly, while "new three" products such as electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaics continued to lead globally. Third, diversification of markets is deepening. China continues to deepen its presence in global markets, with a more balanced and steady trade layout. From January to May, exports to countries participating in the "Belt and Road" initiative increased by 13.6%, accounting for over 51%, with double-digit growth maintained in ASEAN, the EU, Africa, and Latin America, expanding the "circle of friends" for win-win cooperation. Regardless of how complex the external environment is or how it changes, China will steadfastly promote high-level opening up to the outside world, stabilize exports, and expand imports with more pragmatic measures, injecting more stability and positive energy into the world economy. Thank you. [Cover News Reporter]: The 34th China-New Zealand Joint Economic and Trade Commission was recently held in Beijing. Can the Ministry of Commerce provide specific details? How will bilateral economic and trade relations be further deepened in the next steps? [He Yadong]: On June 5, the 34th China-New Zealand Joint Economic and Trade Commission was held in Beijing, where China and New Zealand exchanged in-depth views on deepening bilateral economic and trade relations, strengthening regional and multilateral cooperation, among other topics. Both sides agreed to jointly promote negotiations on the negative list of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement in services trade, enhance communication and cooperation in regional and multilateral frameworks such as APEC and the WTO, and continue to support a rules-based multilateral trading system. In the next steps, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to make good use of the Joint Commission mechanism with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, further promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, advance regional and multilateral agendas, and make greater contributions to building a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and New Zealand. Thank you. [CCTV Finance Reporter]: We have seen from the data released by the Ministry of Commerce that China's service trade exports increased by 15% from January to April, with personal culture and entertainment services growing at a rate as high as 39.5%, and royalties achieving a high-speed growth of 20.8%. Mr. Spokesperson, what are the main drivers behind these high growth rates? What specific measures has China taken to promote service exports this year? [He Yadong]: In recent years, driven by policy support and industry development, the international competitiveness of "China's services" has continued to improve, especially with rapid growth in knowledge-intensive service exports. From January to April this year, China's service exports reached 985 billion yuan, an increase of 15% year-on-year. Knowledge-intensive service exports increased by 11.7%, accounting for 55.2% of total service exports. Knowledge-intensive services encompass areas such as intellectual property rights, culture, and entertainment. For example, in the field of intellectual property rights, data from relevant research institutions show that China's outbound licensing of innovative drugs has repeatedly reached new highs, with a market share exceeding 40% by 2025. In the field of culture and entertainment, China's online literature, web series, online games, and other digital cultural products have sparked a "China craze" globally and have become new engines for cultural consumption and international cultural expansion, accelerating the pace of internationalization through a combination of "content + platform + model." Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Commerce, in close coordination with relevant departments, has introduced a series of policies to promote travel services exports, standardize service trade, accelerate the construction of national service trade innovation and development demonstration zones and national digital trade demonstration zones, among others. At the same time, we continue to implement the "Thousand Ships Setting Sail" action plan for foreign cultural trade to assist cultural enterprises in tapping into international markets. In the next steps, we will continue to ensure the effective implementation of relevant policies and accelerate the cultivation of new momentum in service trade. Thank you. [Reuters Reporter]: Does the Ministry of Commerce expect that China's efforts to achieve zero-tariff trade with Africa will promote the more extensive use of the Renminbi on the African continent? What measures is the Ministry of Commerce taking to achieve this goal? [He Yadong]: Starting from May 1, 2026, China has implemented a two-year comprehensive zero-tariff measure for 53 African countries with diplomatic ties, while continuing to promote the negotiation of the Agreement on Common Development Economic Partnership. This is a major step taken by China to firmly expand high-level opening up and implement the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Against the backdrop of unilateralism and protectionism posing challenges to African countries, China has leveraged its super-large market advantages to proactively open up its market for mutual development. Since the implementation of these measures, they have been widely welcomed by African countries and highly praised by the international community. This article is compiled from the official website of the Ministry of Commerce. GMTEight editing: Xu Wenqiang.