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CCPIT

CCPIT Overseas Representative Offices Work Meeting Held

The CCPIT Overseas Representative Offices Work Meeting was held in Beijing on January 13. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era， the meeting was held to implement the guidelines of the 20th CPC National Congress and the guiding principles reflected in General Secretary Xi Jinpings important video address at the conference celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of CCPIT and the Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit. The meeting summarized overseas work， analyzed the new situation， clarified the organizations new orientation and set forth new tasks. Ren Hongbin， Secretary of the CPC Party Leadership Group and Chairman of the CCPIT， attended and addressed the meeting.

It was emphasized at the meeting that the work of overseas representative offices is an integral part of CCPITs work. Over these years， CCPITs overseas representative offices have made remarkable achievements in tightening the bond of common interests between Chinese and foreign enterprises， promoting international economic and trade exchanges， and developing state-to-state relations， writing a splendid chapter of overseas work in CCPITs 70-year glorious history. In recent years， relying on the advantages of the overseas front line， the overseas representative offices have focused on the business of trade and investment promotion， commercial legal services， participation in global economic governance， and building of application-oriented think tanks. They have bolstered Chinas economic and people-to-people diplomacy， worked hard to serve Chinese and foreign enterprises， and enhanced self-development in all respects. They have played an important part in pursuing the high-quality development of trade promotion and a higher level of opening up. All these results are worth noting.

The meeting stressed that CCPITs overseas work functions as critical forces in promoting opening up and economic and people-to-people diplomacy；

it could be regarded as an essential extension of trade promotion cause with Chinese characteristics overseas. All office staff should strive to be active facilitators of international economic and trade cooperation， strong promoters of an open world economy， and responsible achievers in building a world-class trade and investment promotion institution with Chinese characteristics. All staff of the overseas representative offices should focus on the five tasks， namely， information， service， coordination， research and negotiation， to present a new look with new working style and work pattern.

Book Launch for CCPITs Free Trade Agreement Business Application Guide Held

The CCPIT held a book launch for its Free Trade Agreement Business Application Guide in Beijing on January 16， marking the official release of the Free Trade Agreement Business Application Guide series. Zhang Shenfeng and Zhang Shaogang， Vice Chairmen of CCPIT， were present.

According to the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， efforts should be made to upgrade pilot free trade zones and expand the globally-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas， Zhang Shenfeng said. Promoting Free Trade Agreements （FTA） is a crucial responsibility of the CCPIT and the most direct and effective way to help enterprises expand foreign trade and investment cooperation. The CCPIT has gathered experts from different fields to compile the series to improve the utilization rate of Chinas FTAs. With 16 volumes in total， the series involves all FTAs signed by China that are in force to date， from the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement， to provide enterprises with practical references that are easy to understand.

Zhang Shaogang said the series gathers the insight of Chinas first-class university scientific research institutions in the field of theoretical and practical research of FTAs， and that of CCPIT experts. Aimed at serving enterprises and solving possible practical problems they are confronting， the series interprets FTA texts by seeking out firsthand cases and materials. With the five prominent features of comprehensiveness， systematicness， professionalism， practicability and popularity， the series is seen as the most comprehensive interpretation of Chinas FTAs so far. The CCPIT will earnestly implement decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee on the upgrading of free trade zones（FTZs）， closely follow the latest developments of Chinas FTA negotiation and conclusion， and prepare and publish business application guides on newly signed FTAs in the future.

APEC Women Leadership Forum 2022 Held in Sanya

The APEC Women Leadership Forum 2022（hereinafter referred to as “the Forum”） was held in Sanya. Yu Jianlong， Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT）， Ma Li， President of China Association of Policy Science （CAPS）， and Yin Chengling， Vice Mayor of the Peoples Government of Sanya City， attended and addressed the opening ceremony. Lin Yi， Vice Chairman of the All-China Womens Federation（ACWF）， delivered a speech via video link.

In his speech at the opening ceremony， Yu Jianlong said that the success of the Forums recent sessions had significantly influenced womens leadership in the economic， social， cultural， scientific and technological fields. He hoped that more women would actively integrate themselves into the overall development of the Asia-Pacific region and take on responsibility for empowering women in the economy. Enterprises should share their best practices and experiences to provide a valuable reference for promoting pragmatic cooperation among women in the Asia-Pacific region. Finally， womens career development platforms should be strengthened to foster more in-depth participation of females in regional economic and social activities.

In her speech online， Lin Yi said that women are creators of material and spiritual wealth， and represent an important force driving social development and progress. As the Asia-Pacific has entered a crucial stage of post-Covid recovery， letting women play a vital role in public health， science and technology， the Internet and other fields would be a prerequisite for sustainable and inclusive growth.

FIGURES

14.5%

Foreign direct investment （FDI） into the Chinese mainland， in actual use， expanded 14.5% year-on-year to RMB 127.69 billion in January， the Ministry of Commerce said.

5.2%

The IMF updated its World Economic Outlook and projected that Chinas economy will grow by 5.2% in 2023， 0.8 percentage points higher than the forecast in October last year.

12.2%

In the context of the Spring Festival holiday， sales revenue of Chinas consumptionrelated sectors rose 12.2% this year over the corresponding period of last year.

23%

The domestic tourism market also witnessed a robust recovery during the holiday with 308 million visits， up 23% yearon-year， recovering to about 88.6% of the 2019 level， generating a revenue of， according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

165

As of the end of 2022， the State Council had launched seven batches of such pilot areas， which lifted the total to 165 across the country， the Ministry of Commerce said.

87.41

Last year， Chinas new PV installations reached a record 87.41 GW， a year-on-year increase of 59.3%. The countrys PV product exports surged 80.3% year-onyear to hit USD 51.25 billion.

RMB 708.1 billion

Statistics from Beijingbased consultancy All View Cloud show the revenue of Chinas home appliance sector reached RMB 708.1 billion in 2022， down 7.4% year-on-year.

125 million

Chinas newly installed combined wind and solar power capacity reached a record 125 million kilowatts last year， taking total installed capacity to over 1.2 billion kW. Wind accounted for 37.63 million kW and solar took up 87.41 million kW.

2.87 million

During this years Spring Festival， more than 2.87 million people traveled abroad， an average of 410，000 per day， up 120.5% from the previous Spring Festival holiday， according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

10.25 billion

Chinas Internet of Things （IoT） sector is expected to log strong expansion in the coming years， and the countrys number of IoT connections will near 10.25 billion by 2026， says the report from global market research firm International Data Corporation （IDC）.

RMB 1.4 trillion

Chinas photovoltaic sector posted robust growth in 2022 with the total output value of the industry exceeding RMB 1.4 trillion， according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

71.2%

Total crude imports declined last year to 508 million metric tons， down 1% year-on-year with the dependency rate down to 71.2%， the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation said.

QUOTES

The number of major SMEs surged 10.5% in 2022. The combined operating revenue and profits of these companies during the period rose 5.2% and 1.1%， respectively， year-on-year.

— Xu Xiaolan， Vice-minister of Industry and Information Technology

Many tech SMEs still face challenges in key elements such as talent， technology and capital. To support the high-quality development of such SMEs， industry leaders should empower those companies by leveraging their own advantages like technology and talent.

— Li Feng， head of innovation and development at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges

Consumption plays a fundamental role in Chinas economic development and is the main driving force boosting economic growth.

— Wang Yun， a researcher at the Academy of Macroeconomic Research

We have been participating in Chinas reform and opening-up process， and we have witnessed the success as we benefited from its development.

— Michael Kirsch， President & CEO of Porsche China

The robust growth in the three major economic zones will not only promote a more balanced and coordinated development in the regions but also drive up the robust development of their surrounding areas， including Northeast China， western China， North China， the Yangtze River Economic Belt as well Southwest China.

— Yang Jinghao， chief economist at Concat Data Technology （Hangzhou） Co.

China boasts a sizeable consumption market， with immense development potential and resilience. The key to stabilizing economic growth is maintaining stable consumption growth.

— Zhao Ping， Deputy Head of the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade

POLICIES

Regulators Give Massive Fillip to Biz Ties Among GBA Regions

China is actively paving the way for closer economic and business relations among various regions of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area， experts said after a quick review of two key documents unveiled recently.

The documents underlined financial support for the development of Qianhai in Shenzhen and Hengqin in Zhuhai， both in South Chinas Guangdong province.

The Peoples Bank of China， the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission， the China Securities Regulatory Commission， the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and the Guangdong provincial government jointly released two documents on Thursday.

The guidelines in them contain dozens of financial support measures in fields such as financial services relating to peoples livelihood， connectivity among financial markets， the development of the modern financial industry， accelerated facilitation of cross-border trade， investment and financing， and enhanced cooperation on financial regulation.

Chinas efforts to develop the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and promote reforms and opening-up in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone will further expand the opening-up policy and boost innovation in Chinas finance sector.

Philippine Senate Ratifies RCEP Agreement

The Philippine Senate ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement recently.

After the RCEP officially took effect on January 1 last year， the trade pact enters into force 60 days after a member officially deposits the instruments of ratification， acceptance or approval to the ASEAN Secretariat， the agreements depositary.

Involving Australia， China， Japan， South Korea， New Zealand and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations―Brunei， Cambodia， Indonesia， Laos， Malaysia， Myanmar， the Philippines， Singapore， Thailand， and Vietnam， the RCEP trade pact has so far taken effect in most members.

Xu， who is also chairman of the RCEP Industry Cooperation Committee， said that more Chinese enterprises are expected to invest in the Philippines as a gateway to international markets， while the two countries will also likely strengthen industrial chain cooperation in various sectors， including construction.

Foreign Investors to Get Increased Support

China is expected to launch more measures to enhance the confidence of foreign investors， especially in high-end and manufacturing industries， according to experts and business leaders.

Those measures will expand high-level opening-up， improve the business environment and increase policy certainty and consistency in order to facilitate the development of foreign investors in the worlds second-largest economy， they said.

Latest data from the Ministry of Commerce showed on Monday that the actual use of foreign capital on the Chinese mainland reached RMB 127.69 billion in January， up 14.5% from a year earlier.

The nations manufacturing and high-tech sectors proved to be highly attractive to foreign investors， with actual use of foreign capital increasing respectively by 40.4% and 62.8% yearon-year.

“Against rising protectionism and some countries efforts to exclude China from global industrial and supply chains， China is expected to boost the confidence of foreign investors through concrete measures to sustain existing investments and attract new investments，” said Zhang Yansheng， chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

China has vowed to establish a market-oriented and law-based business environment that meets international standards， he said， adding that the country is expected to continuously improve its business climate with more high-standard openingup measures， as well as predictable and consistent policies.