The Ministry of Commerce has stated that agricultural trade constitutes a significant part of economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States. Following recent consultations, both sides have established guiding objectives for expanding two-way trade in agricultural products and have agreed in principle to include relevant agricultural goods within a framework for reciprocal tariff reductions. Trade will be conducted by enterprises autonomously, adhering to market principles and based on actual demand and market conditions.
Ministry of Commerce Holds Regular Press Conference (July 2, 2026)
He Yadong: Good afternoon, friends from the media. Welcome to the Ministry of Commerce's regular press conference. I have no information to brief you on today. I am now ready to take your questions. Please go ahead.
Cover News Reporter: Canada's International Trade Minister, Mary Ng, recently stated that she will discuss further tariff reductions concerning Canadian canola, peas, and seafood during a meeting with her Chinese counterpart this autumn. Can the Ministry of Commerce provide an update on China-Canada economic and trade relations?
He Yadong: In January of this year, guided by the important consensus of the leaders of both countries, China and Canada signed the China-Canada Economic and Trade Cooperation Roadmap, forming a preliminary joint arrangement for handling bilateral economic and trade issues. Since then, the economic and trade teams of both sides have maintained close communication on follow-up implementation work. China consistently advocates for resolving mutual concerns through equal dialogue and consultation and is willing to work with Canada to expand the list of cooperation and shorten the list of problems, promoting the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of China-Canada economic and trade relations. Thank you.
Phoenix TV Reporter: Recently, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and European Commission Executive Vice-President for Trade and Economic Security, Valdis Dombrovskis, jointly held the first meeting of the China-EU Trade and Investment Dialogue. Can the Ministry of Commerce provide specific details?
He Yadong: On June 29, Minister Wang Wentao and Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis jointly chaired the inaugural meeting of the China-EU Trade and Investment Dialogue at the EU headquarters. They conducted comprehensive, in-depth, and constructive discussions on key China-EU economic and trade topics. Both sides issued a joint statement after the meeting, agreeing to initially establish four working pillars under the dialogue mechanism, including trade and investment balance, export controls, intellectual property, and WTO reform. The setup of these consultation pillars covers both bilateral China-EU economic and trade issues and multilateral topics such as the WTO, demonstrating the shared commitment of China and the EU to upholding the multilateral trading system. The China-EU Trade and Investment Dialogue is a newly established regular communication mechanism in the economic and trade field, with both sides agreeing to hold 1-2 ministerial-level meetings annually. China has invited Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis to visit China this autumn to hold the second regular meeting of the dialogue mechanism. During the first meeting, both sides focused on discussing actions in three areas to promote upward, rather than downward, balance in trade: first, in emerging fields, both sides will strive to expand cooperation in areas such as AI and green transition; second, in potential fields, both sides will delve into the cooperative potential in areas like trade in services; third, in problematic fields, both sides will address mutual concerns gradually through market access consultations. China is fully implementing its 15th Five-Year Plan and advancing the building of a strong trading nation, and will actively promote balanced development of imports and exports. China is willing to utilize platforms such as "Export to China" and the China International Import Expo to help EU companies explore the Chinese market and expand exports to China. Most importantly, both sides reached a consensus on a new positioning for China-EU economic and trade relations: that of stable and balanced key trading partners. This will help improve expectations for the vast number of Chinese and European enterprises and inject more certainty and positive energy into the economic development of China, Europe, and the world. Thank you.
CMG Financial Program Center Reporter: Recently, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Robert Habeck, in Brussels. Both sides agreed to restart the China-Germany Economic Cooperation Joint Committee. Can you provide details?
He Yadong: On June 28, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Robert Habeck traveled specially from Germany to Brussels to meet with Minister Wang Wentao. Both sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on China-Germany economic and trade relations. Both sides agreed that, under the current turbulent international situation, China and Germany should strengthen dialogue and communication, deepen practical cooperation, and develop bilateral economic and trade relations in accordance with eight basic principles, including mutual benefit and reciprocity, fairness and openness, and stability and reliability. Regarding mutual benefit and reciprocity, China and Germany have close industrial linkages, deeply integrated interests, and broad space for cooperation. China possesses an ultra-large market and is willing to further expand imports from Germany, welcoming German companies to invest in China. Both sides will leverage their complementary advantages to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, tap the potential for cooperation in emerging fields, and support enterprises from both countries in achieving mutual success and common development. Regarding fairness and openness, both China and Germany are major manufacturing, trading, and exporting nations, and both are beneficiaries of economic globalization. Facing rising unilateralism and protectionism, both sides should firmly support free trade, expand two-way market access, promote innovation through orderly competition, and create a fair, open, and non-discriminatory business environment for enterprise cooperation. Regarding stability and reliability, as factors of instability and unpredictability increase in the world today, certainty has become the scarcest resource for enterprises. China and Germany should commit to being trustworthy and predictable partners for each other, resolve contradictions and differences through dialogue and consultation, jointly maintain the stability and smooth flow of global industrial and supply chains, and provide more certainty for enterprise cooperation. To this end, both sides agreed to restart the China-Germany Economic Cooperation Joint Committee and innovate the cooperation mechanism by establishing two working groups on trade and investment and industrial cooperation. Adhering to a problem- and results-oriented approach, they will conduct policy exchanges and government-enterprise dialogues on economic and trade issues. Currently, teams from both sides are intensifying efforts to advance various tasks, aiming for a new meeting of the mechanism to be chaired by the ministers of both sides by early 2027. This will accumulate economic and trade achievements for the next phase of high-level exchanges between China and Germany, promote the construction of a stable, balanced, and sustainable China-Germany economic and trade relationship, and contribute to the stable and healthy development of China-EU economic and trade relations. Thank you.
CMG CGTN Reporter: It is understood that during Minister Wang Wentao's visit to the UK, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the UK Department for Business and Trade jointly held a UK-focused "Export to China" event. Can you provide information about this event?
He Yadong: The UK was the first country to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on "Export to China" cooperation with China and is one of the five theme countries for "Export to China" this year. The UK-focused "Export to China" event held in London on July 1 is a concrete measure to implement the important economic and trade consensus of the leaders of China and the UK. It received strong support and active response from the governments and business communities of both countries. Minister Wang Wentao and UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch attended and delivered speeches. Approximately 40 Chinese enterprises participated with a sincere desire for cooperation, traveling to London from afar. Over a hundred UK companies also attended, demonstrating their high regard for the Chinese market. Enterprises from both sides conducted precise matchmaking and negotiations covering multiple cooperative fields such as automobiles, energy and chemicals, instruments and meters, sports events, and life sciences. The event was highly recognized by the UK side. Secretary Badenoch stated that the UK's newly launched industrial development strategy is highly aligned with China's 15th Five-Year Plan, creating opportunities for bilateral cooperation. The UK and China can enhance understanding and collaborate through dialogue to maintain the stability of bilateral economic and trade relations and benefit the people of both countries. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Chairman of the China-Britain Business Council, noted that it is unprecedented globally for a Chinese minister to specifically visit a country to promote that country's exports to China. This is also a substantive measure by China to expand imports from the UK, demonstrating China's determination to expand imports from the world. Benefiting from reductions in Chinese import tariffs, Diageo's whisky exports to China have been growing continuously; AstraZeneca trusts China's scientific innovation and manufacturing capabilities and continues to expand its investment in China; Glasgow Airport is strengthening cooperation with Chinese aviation enterprises to facilitate the export of UK competitive products to China. All these fully illustrate the enormous potential and bright prospects for UK-China cooperation. The UK is also an important partner for China in trade in services. China-UK trade in services exceeded $30 billion in 2025, and there remains huge potential to be tapped. China is willing to work with the UK to accelerate the joint feasibility study on a China-UK trade in services agreement, creating favorable conditions for further enhancing the level of service trade cooperation between the two countries. Thank you.
Reuters Reporter: Regarding China's commitment to purchase at least $17 billion worth of US agricultural products (including soybeans) annually, can you provide the latest progress? Specifically, when is it expected that these purchases will gradually increase? Furthermore, are there plans to reduce or eliminate the remaining 10% tariffs on US agricultural products?
He Yadong: Agricultural trade is an important component of China-US economic and trade cooperation. Following recent economic and trade consultations, both sides have set guiding objectives for expanding two-way trade in agricultural products and have agreed in principle to include relevant agricultural products within a framework for reciprocal tariff reductions. Enterprises will conduct trade autonomously, following market principles and based on actual demand and market conditions. China is willing to work with the US to create favorable conditions for two-way agricultural trade. Thank you.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur Reporter: The China-EU trade consultations were held in Brussels on Monday. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis stated after the talks that both sides agreed he would visit China in October to discuss the new outcomes of the consultations. Furthermore, Commissioner Dombrovskis said he welcomed Minister Wang's statement that "export controls on rare earths would not disrupt EU supply chains." Can the Ministry of Commerce confirm the invitation for Commissioner Dombrovskis to visit China in October to discuss the results? Also, can the Ministry confirm Minister Wang's statement regarding rare earth export controls? Additionally, what measures does China intend to take to protect EU supply chains from disruption under China's rare earth export controls?
He Yadong: China and the EU have carried out good cooperation under the export control dialogue. At the first meeting of the China-EU Trade and Investment Dialogue, the EU side expressed appreciation and gratitude for the positive outcomes achieved in the China-EU export control dialogue. Both sides will further strengthen exchanges and consultations under the export control pillar of the China-EU Trade and Investment Dialogue mechanism to maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains. Thank you.
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