Wang Wentao, Secretary of the Party Group and Minister of the Ministry of Commerce: Promote high-level opening up to successfully handle two major economic and trade issues.

Minister and Secretary of the Party Group of the Ministry of Commerce, Wang Wentao, stated that adhering to open cooperation and mutual benefit is a necessary requirement for China's modernization. Expanding high-level opening to the outside world is not only beneficial for us to gain strategic initiative in intense international competition, but also can promote global openness through our own opening. Regarding the arrangements of the Central Economic Work Conference, the Ministry of Commerce will focus on implementing them in the following three areas. Actively expanding independent opening. We will orderly expand independent opening in service areas such as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology, and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, accelerate the comprehensive pilot demonstrations for opening up in the service industry. We will expand unilateral opening in fields and regions, promote the landing of the 100% tariff-free measures for all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We will vigorously promote the implementation of policies for the operation of the Hainan Free Trade Port, further improve the level of liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, optimize the regional layout scope of free trade pilot zones, support free trade pilot zones in conducting more rigorous institutional opening trials in areas such as market access, environmental standards, and government procurement, and better play the demonstration and leading role of the comprehensive reform and opening up experimental platform. Promotion of reasonable and orderly cross-border layout of industrial chain supply chain. We will fully deepen economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, promote the integration and interconnection of production and supply chains, encourage cooperation in areas such as green development, digital economy, green minerals, new infrastructure, and new energy, and promote the establishment of equal, inclusive, and constructive global production and supply chain partnerships. We will leverage the functions of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, expand overseas marketing networks through foreign investment, explore international markets, achieve mutual promotion of investment and trade, and promote the integrated development of trade and investment. We will also optimize the overseas comprehensive service system, improve the national-level overseas comprehensive service platform, promote the formation of an overseas service ecosystem with coordinated actions between the central and local levels, regional cooperation, and resource gathering. Constructive participation in global economic governance. 2026 will witness two major events in the economic and trade sector. One is the "China Year" of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization, where we will deeply engage in APEC economic and trade cooperation and host a series of economic and trade meetings. The other is the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, where we will comprehensively and deeply participate in the reform of the World Trade Organization, together with all parties, to voice support for multilateralism and free trade, and push for practical outcomes of the conference. We will also sign trade and investment agreements with more willing countries and regions in a flexible and pragmatic manner. Strengthen economic and trade cooperation under mechanisms such as the BRICS countries, G20, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and promote mutual benefit and win-win results.