Ministry of Commerce: I hope the European side will pay attention to the concerns of Chinese enterprises and refrain from using restrictive economic and trade instruments

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on July 31, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference. Ministry of Commerce press spokesman He Yadong said that the essence of the Sino-European economic and trade relationship is that they have complementary advantages, mutual benefit and win-win results. He hopes that the European side will maintain an open market, pay attention to the concerns of Chinese enterprises, refrain from using restrictive economic and trade instruments, and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises to trade and invest in Europe.

At the same time, China will continue to expand a high level of openness to the outside world, continuously improve the business environment, fully implement national treatment for foreign investors, strengthen intellectual property protection, and provide good service guarantees for foreign-funded enterprises. The Chinese side welcomes more European companies to invest in China, further cultivate China, and share China's development opportunities.

The original text is as follows:

The Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference

[He Yadong]: Dear reporters and friends:

Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to the Ministry of Commerce's regular press conference. I don't have any information I need to share with you today. Next, I would like to answer the questions raised by my journalist friends.

Please ask questions below.

[Phoenix TV Reporter]: The 25th China-Europe Leaders' Meeting was held recently in Beijing. European Commission President von der Leyen said that the European side has no intention of “decoupling” from China and welcomes Chinese companies to invest and develop businesses in Europe. What comments does the Chinese side have on this? What is the next step to promote the upgrading of Sino-European economic and trade cooperation?

[He Yadong]: Last week, the 25th China-Europe Leaders' Meeting was successfully held. The leaders of the two sides reached a series of important agreements on Sino-European economic and trade cooperation. The Ministry of Commerce will work with the European side to carry out follow-up implementation work. During the leaders' meeting, the Ministry of Commerce held a symposium for Chinese and European entrepreneurs. Business representatives from both sides expressed full confidence in trade and investment cooperation between China and Europe, and are willing to jointly push the supply chain cooperation between China and Europe to a higher level.

The Chinese side has always believed that the essence of Sino-European economic and trade relations is that they have complementary advantages, mutual benefit and win-win results. We hope that the European side will maintain an open market, pay attention to the concerns of Chinese enterprises, refrain from using restrictive economic and trade instruments, and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises to trade and invest in Europe. At the same time, China will continue to expand a high level of openness to the outside world, continuously improve the business environment, fully implement national treatment for foreign investors, strengthen intellectual property protection, and provide good service guarantees for foreign-funded enterprises. The Chinese side welcomes more European companies to invest in China, further cultivate China, and share China's development opportunities. Thank you.

[CGTN Reporter]: The “Buy in China” series of activities has been launched for some time. Can you ask the speaker to introduce the latest developments?

[He Yadong]: Since this year, 6 departments including the Ministry of Commerce have organized and launched the “Buy in China” series of activities to create an iconic consumer expansion campaign brand. Currently, special events such as the international consumer season, boutique launch season, and service consumption season have been held. “Buying in China” has not only become a buzzword for domestic residents, but also a “trendy choice” for international tourists. In summary, there are three characteristics:

The first is the synergy of “policy+activity”. The Ministry of Commerce, together with the State Administration of Taxation and other departments, issued the “Notice on Further Optimizing the Departure Tax Refund Policy and Expanding Inbound Consumption”, which guides all regions to expand stores, increase products, and provide strong support for increasing the appeal of “buying in China”. In the first half of this year, the country's departure tax refund sales nearly doubled year-on-year, and the number of departure tax refund stores exceeded 7,200, an increase of about 80% over the end of 2024. Recently, you may have noticed that when walking in shopping malls and shopping centers in Beijing and Shanghai, you can often see foreign tourists applying for departure tax refunds.

Second, industrial advantages and regional characteristics complement each other. All regions fully relied on the region's resource endowments, industrial advantages and cultural characteristics to organize and carry out nearly 20 distinctive “Buy in China · Local Station” events to meet diverse and multi-level consumption needs. For example, Shenzhen leverages the advantages of scientific and technological innovation to host the “Smart Summer Brand Exhibition” to show consumers innovative achievements in smart consumption through super-simulated 3D printing robots, ultra-visual 3D three-dimensional paintings, AI smart glasses, and whole-house smart homes. Guangxi leverages its unique location to host the “ASEAN Fruits Gather in Guangxi” event to effectively promote the adaptation of production and marketing to supply and demand.

The third is the diversification of business travel, culture, sports and fitness. All regions focus on the four major areas of boutique shopping, exquisite cuisine, exciting tourism, and beautiful exhibitions, strengthen departmental coordination, coordinate high-quality resources in various fields, and create diverse consumption scenarios. For example, Shanghai hosted the Shanghai Summer International Consumer Season and launched 10 benchmark events including food, exhibitions, events, travel, and animation. Among them, the “Ancient Egyptian Civilization Exhibition” has received a total of 2.6 million visitors since its launch. Tianjin hosted the Haihe International Consumer Season and launched the “Ticket Coupon Promotion Program” to link events such as exhibitions, shows, and events, and unleash the potential for integrated consumption in multiple scenarios.

In the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will work with relevant departments to guide all regions to continue to organize the “Buy in China” series of activities to create a beautiful experience of shopping, tasting food, beautiful scenery, and watching shows with richer supply, better service, and more diverse scenarios, so that domestic residents and inbound visitors can better experience the vigorous vitality of the Chinese consumer market. Thank you.

[Cover News Reporter]: The 2025 Group of Twenty (G20) Development Ministers Meeting will be held in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Could the speaker explain the relevant situation? What is the next step to strengthen cooperation with G20 member countries?

[He Yadong]: In November 2024, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the G20 Rio summit stating that China supports the continuation of the G20 Development Ministerial Meeting. On July 24-25, 2025, the G20 Development Ministers Meeting will be held in South Africa. The conference discussed topics such as strengthening social protection and combating illegal financial flows.

China sent a delegation to actively promote China's successful experiences and practices in related fields, and called on G20 members to practice true multilateralism, oppose unilateralism and power bullying, and actively provide more public goods for global development; promote inclusive development, increase support for trade and investment capacity building in developing countries, and help them achieve industrialization and modernization; focus on promoting innovation and development, and strengthen cooperation in emerging fields such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence, green minerals, and low-carbon development to help developing countries bridge the digital divide and green divide and integrate more broadly and deeply into the global industrial chain and value chain.

Under the joint impetus of China and all other parties, the conference adopted a series of outcome documents, including the Ministerial Declaration on Development, which reaffirmed firm support for international development cooperation and injected strong impetus into speeding up the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In the current context of global development challenges, China will cooperate closely with G20 members, continue to place development at the center of the international cooperation agenda, effectively coordinate and mobilize resources from relevant international agencies, and jointly help developing countries accelerate the achievement of sustainable development goals, leaving no country or anyone behind. In the next step, China will continue to step up implementation of the agreement reached by G20 development ministers and prepare for the positive results of the G20 Johannesburg summit to be held in November this year in the field of development. Thank you.

[Radio Television Hong Kong Reporter]: Chang He said he plans to invite major strategic investors from the Mainland to participate in the Hutchison Port Group deal. What is the spokesperson's response to this, and whether China will participate in the transaction?

[He Yadong]: Regarding Changhe Group's sale of overseas port assets, the relevant departments have issued several statements before. The Chinese Government will conduct scrutiny and supervision in accordance with law, protect fair competition in the market, safeguard the public interest of society, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests. Thank you.

[CNBC Reporter]: Economic and trade negotiations between China and the US continue this week. What are the discussions and cooperation plans on tariffs, fentanyl, rare earths, and high-end chips?

[He Yadong]: From July 28 to 29, China and the US held economic and trade talks in Stockholm, Sweden. They had candid, in-depth, and constructive exchanges on economic and trade topics of common concern, such as Sino-US economic and trade relations and macroeconomic policies. They reviewed and confirmed the Sino-US agreement on the Geneva Economic and Trade Talks and the implementation of the London Framework. China looks forward to working with the US to continue to play the role of the Sino-US economic and trade consultation mechanism in accordance with the important agreement of the heads of state of the two countries, further deepen dialogue and consultations, and continuously seek more win-win results. Thank you.

[Bloomberg Reporter]: Do you have any further details on the part of the Sino-US trade negotiations that push the US to suspend 24% of reciprocal tariffs and the agreement that China's countermeasures will be extended as scheduled? Also, US President Trump said that India will be subject to higher tariffs due to the purchase of Russian oil. He has also expressed related threats to China before. Is China concerned about this?

[He Yadong]: Regarding your first question, according to the agreement of the Sino-US Stockholm economic and trade talks, the two sides will continue to push for the suspended 24% portion of the US equal tariff and the extension of China's countermeasures as scheduled for 90 days to further stabilize Sino-US economic and trade relations and inject more certainty into the development and stability of the world economy.

Regarding your second question, the Chinese side has stated its principles and positions many times before. Thank you.

This article was selected from the “Ministry of Commerce” official website, Zhitong Finance Editor: Jiang Yuanhua.