by+Shirley

On April 13， the Ministry of Commerce held the regular press conference. Spokesman Sun Jiwen answered the hot issues that concern media at home and abroad. Here is the record：

WTO publishes 2016 Global Trade Statistic Report

On April 12， the WTO published 2016 Global Trade Statistics Report. The Report shows that in 2016 the decreasing amplitude of the value of global trade in goods narrowed and China continued to be the largest export nation. In 2017， the volume of global trade in goods is expected to recover， but there are still many uncertainties.

China continues to maintain the largest nation of export of global trade in goods. In 2016， the export value of global trade in goods reached US$15.5 trillion， with a decrease of 3.3% and the import volume reached US$15.8 trillion， with a decrease of 3.2%. Chinas export volume was US$2.1 trillion， accounting for 13.2% of the global share， and the import volume was US$1.6 trillion. China maintains the status of the largest export nation of trade in goods and the second largest import nation for eight years continuously.

It is estimated that in 2017 the global trade volume will recover and increase. But many uncertainties exist. The WTO estimates that the global trade volume will increase 2.4% in 2017. It will be1.1 percentage points higher than the actual increase of 2016， yet still lower than the annual increase growth of more than 5% before the international financial crisis two years ago.

Q： US Department of Commerce said on April 4th that the US imports from China fell to 32.8 billion dollars in February， down 20.8% from a year ago， a record low， while the February Sino-US trade deficit fell 26.6% to 23 billion dollars. What is the Ministrys comment on this？

A：According to Chinese statistics， in February 2017， Sino-US trade reached 33.01 billion US dollars， up 7.0%. Among them， Chinese imports from the United States reached 11.29 billion US dollars， up 37.9%； exports to the United States totaled at 21.71 billion US dollars， down 4.2%. China gained a surplus of 10.42 billion US dollars， down 28%. The US statistics you quoted also show that US trade deficit with China fell by 26% in February， while exports to China increased by 22%.

China never pursues a trade surplus. Fundamentally， trade imbalance between China and the US is determined by the economic structure of the two countries， their respective industrial competitiveness， and the international division of labor. Although the trade surplus is counted in Chinas favor， the benefit of it is actually shared by both sides. China is willing to expand imports from the United States based on actual demand in the domestic market. We hope that the United States can also adjust its export control policy and other policies that impede exports to China so as to create the conditions for narrowing the trade deficit.