General

Recently, some foreign trade companies have reported that this year’s peak shipment period for Christmas products is not going well. The rising prices of raw materials, rising freight rates, and "difficult to find a box" have caused foreign trade companies to face the situation of "business but no profit".

In response, Gao Feng, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, responded at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Commerce held on August 26, saying that currently, affected by factors such as the continuous spread of the global epidemic, rising international commodity prices, and structural imbalances in global capacity, The high prices of some raw materials, high freight rates, and insufficient capacity have always plagued foreign trade companies.

Gao Feng said frankly: "As far as we know, June to August are usually the peak season for Christmas products shipments. However, considering the risk of shipping detention this year, overseas customers generally place orders in advance through online viewing and signing of orders. Some orders have already been made. Shipments and deliveries were completed earlier than in previous years, and some orders were backlogged in domestic warehouses due to difficulties in booking space or high freight rates, putting pressure on business operations."

Gao Feng said that the phenomenon of tight capacity and high freight rates is global. The Ministry of Commerce, in conjunction with the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the State Administration for Market Supervision, has actively taken measures to increase container supply, increase shipping capacity, and strengthen international cooperation. Local governments have also increased their shipping service guarantees for small and medium-sized enterprises to help them reduce costs and losses.

Gao Feng said that the Ministry of Commerce will continue to work with relevant departments and localities to further study targeted measures, do a good job in stabilizing foreign trade and smooth international logistics, strengthen cooperation with various trading partners, and work together to cope with challenges.

In addition, the US-China Business Council recently sent a letter urging the US government to expand bilateral trade between China and the US and cancel the tariffs previously imposed due to trade frictions.

In this regard, Gao Feng said that China has always believed that the US tariff increase is not good for China, not good for the United States, and not good for the recovery of the world economy.

Gao Feng said that in the first seven months of this year, bilateral trade in goods between China and the United States increased by 40% year-on-year. Among them, China's imports from the United States increased by 50.4% year-on-year, and exports to the United States increased by 36.9%. This fully demonstrates that the economies of the two countries are highly complementary and that bilateral economic and trade cooperation is in the interests of the two countries and their peoples.

Gao Feng said that to expand Sino-US trade cooperation, we have always emphasized that both sides should work together to create an atmosphere and conditions to promote implementation.

In response to the question raised by the media, "It is reported that the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury intends to come to China for consultations with Vice Premier Liu He. What news does China have to disclose? What is the progress of China-U.S. negotiations?" Gao Feng pointed out that the Sino-U.S. economic and trade teams maintain normal communication. . If there is further information, we will release it in time.