China's commerce ministry vows to boost consumption, stabilize foreign trade in 2025

The national commerce work conference was held in Beijing from Saturday to Sunday, during which officials set priorities for 2025, emphasizing efforts to stimulate consumption and stabilize foreign trade, two important drivers for economic growth, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). 

The meeting reviewed key achievements of 2024 and set goals for the coming year. Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao delivered a work report during the meeting.

The two-day meeting highlighted significant progress in expanding consumption, improving market circulation, and stabilizing foreign trade in 2024. Efforts were made to strengthen market resilience. Policies aimed at attracting foreign investment also intensified in 2024, including reductions in negative lists and improvements to the business environment, according to the MOFCOM. 

For 2025, the ministry stressed the importance of boosting domestic consumption through trade-in programs for consumer goods and creating diverse consumption scenarios. Moreover, the development of service and digital consumption, alongside the construction of a high-standard market system, will be prioritized.

On the trade front, stabilizing exports and ensuring high-quality trade growth are key goals. Efforts will be made to foster cross-border e-commerce, promote green and digital trade, and support enterprises in exploring international markets. Meanwhile, efforts to expand imports will complement these initiatives.

"Consumption and foreign trade serve as vital drivers of China's economy… the MOFCOM has set the tone for the year's work during its work conference, reflecting the government's strong commitment to promoting consumption and stabilizing foreign trade, signaling that forthcoming policy supports will continue to pivot around the two pillars and are going to be more proactive both in terms breadth and depth, all of which will help stabilize market expectations and confidence," Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"China is an open market where both domestic consumption and foreign trade are essential… While addressing the challenges of  domestic demand, global supply and demand will be in the picture and the key tasks for this year would be to deal with the uncertainties of the external environment, as many would expect," Li further noted.

In 2024, the MOFCOM, in collaboration with various regions and relevant departments, actively promoted consumer goods trade-ins, achieving positive results. For example, driven by policy support, more than 2.9 million vehicles were scrapped and replaced with new ones by consumers last year, while sales of household appliances maintained strong growth in the second half of the year, according to the MOFCOM.

The MOFCOM also ramped up measures to stabilize foreign trade, including expanding export credit insurance coverage and optimizing cross-border trade settlements in 2024, which helped promote stable foreign trade growth and consolidate the momentum of economic recovery and improvement.

Li emphasized that with the government's strong commitment and the implementation of additional supportive measures, the tangible impact of these policies is expected to materialize, serving as an important catalyst for economic growth in the coming year.