Bilateral trade issues must be addressed.

First of all, we should implement the consensus reached by the top leaders of China and the United States at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The top leaders of both sides have recognized the need to resolve bilateral trade development issues through openness, balance, mutual benefit and win-win approaches.

Second, we should involve the issue in the global situation to fully recognize the important position of Sino-U.S. bilateral trade in the global economics and trade. China and the United States must take full account of their responsibilities for the steady development of global trade. We should solve the problems through consultation and cooperation instead of through trade wars, and the latter moves will bring about negative impacts not only on the development of bilateral economic and trade relations, but also on the whole world's development.

Third, we should be fully aware of the complexity, difficulty and long-term nature of this problem, and we also need to maintain strategic patience and strategic focus. The problem cannot possibly be resolved overnight.

Fourth, solving this problem requires the joint efforts of both sides. It cannot be solved by the unilateral measures taken by the Chinese side to expand imports. The 100-Day Action Plan we made is a positive step towards solving this problem. However, our judgment of whether such a large amount is out of balance is based on the United States, who must give play of its comparative advantages through policy adjustments.

Here is an example. Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said in his speech during his trip to the United States that, the American exports of high-tech products to China accounted for 16.7 percent of China's imports of similar products in 2001, but its share dropped to 8.2 percent last year. Do you know what is the biggest single commodity imported to China? It is not oil, but integrated circuits. China's imports of integrated circuits has amounted to US$227 billion - a considerably large sum, but the US' share is only 4 percent of it.

When it comes to the computers we use, the most important advantage the United States has is in its chips. However, they account for only 4 percent of such a large amount of integrated circuit imports in China. What exactly is the reason? Is it a problem of its competitiveness or policies? The United States may want to consider relaxing its restrictions on the exports of high-tech products to China so as to make those competitive American products better enter the Chinese market.

Finally, to solve this problem, we should involve it in the overall framework of the Sino-U.S. economic and trade cooperation. In addition to the negotiations over the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between China and the United States, we should fully consider trade in goods, trade in services and bilateral investment together, so as to further promote bilateral trade and investment relations and to truly achieve our mutually beneficial goals. Thank you.

Ta Kung Pao:
The Ministry of Commerce yesterday announced a new policy under which the procedures for foreign investors to acquire Chinese companies have changed from waiting for administrative approval to filing a record of the takeover. How would you explain this policy? Thank you.

Qian Keming:

On July 30, 2017, the Ministry of Commerce promulgated the "Decision on Amending the Interim Measures for the Establishment and Change of Record Management for Foreign-invested Enterprises." To replace the old procedure of administrative approval, the filing procedure is applicable to foreign investors intending to either a purely domestic-owned company or to launch strategic investments in public companies, as long as the takeovers do not affect any special administrative measures or do not involve a related party M&A. "The Decision" has at the same time elaborated how to file the record and what to report. The major change of the policy for the management of foreign investment concerns the ministry's relentless efforts to carry out reforms in response to the strategic guidelines of CPC Central Committee and the State Council in regard to streamlined administration, the delegation of powers and improved services in the ongoing reform.

Phoenix TV:

Can you interpret the phenomenon that China's outbound investment declined by 42.9 percent in the first half of 2017, and irrational outbound investment has been effectively curbed? Will the Ministry of Commerce take concrete measures to restrain some enterprises' improper outbound investment activities? And what will these measures be?

Qian Keming: China's outbound direct investment (ODI) decline was partly attributed to a high year-on-year figure. The other three reasons are:

First, the domestic economy is steadily growing with some important indicators exceeding forecasts. To put it simply, the will for outbound investment is not as strong when it is easier to make money in the domestic market.

Second, unstable and uncertain factors are increasing. The rise of protectionism in some countries, and their tightened scrutiny over foreign investment, all contributed to the plunge you mention.

Third, we issued some measures to induce enterprises to be more rational. We have strengthened the approval procedures in regard to the authenticity and compliance of outbound investment, and guided enterprises to invest more in the real economy and less in the field of real estate, hotels, cinemas, entertainment facilities and sports clubs.

I'd like to point it out that our investment in the Belt and Road countries and in the real economy only slightly declined.

The Chinese government has always encouraged strong Chinese enterprises to "go global." This policy hasn't changed and it won't change. We will further facilitate outbound investment, improve our services, strengthen supervision, and promote healthy development of outbound investment.

For enterprises seeking to go global, we encourage them to engage in authentic outbound investment that conforms to domestic law, international rules, and market economic principles. Investment in Belt and Road countries, global capacity cooperation and domestic industrial upgrading are all to be particularly encouraged. We will also coordinate with other departments to prevent risks and ensure the sound development of outbound investment, and I want to reiterate that enterprises should be prudent in investing in foreign real estate, hotels, cinemas, entertainment facilities and sports club.

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