The Committee on Economic Affairs of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held a consultation meeting on July 29 to discuss the handling of a key proposal regarding stabilizing foreign trade. 

Gao Yunlong, vice-chairman of the CPPCC National Committee and chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, addressed the meeting.

Gao emphasized that foreign trade is a crucial pillar of China's open economy and a key link in smoothing China's dual circulation economy, where the domestic and international markets reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay. 

He noted that the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee laid out plans to deepen reforms in the foreign trade system, providing guidance to cultivate new growth drivers and enhance China's capacity to manage internal and external risks.

He called for a deeper understanding of the historic achievements in China's foreign trade, a heightened sense of responsibility and a continued commitment to summarizing successful experiences while steadily advancing the high-quality development in the sector.

Gao also underscored the need to foster new growth engines through multiple measures, expand international markets through diversified channels, participate in the formulation and reshaping of global trade rules and establish regulatory frameworks that accommodate new business models and forms.

He encouraged close communication and consultation between proposal-handling departments and proposal initiators to tackle key challenges in economic and social development. Emphasis should be placed on improving the quality and effectiveness of proposal handling, contributing insights and strength to both foreign trade and broader high-quality economic growth, he added.

During the meeting, officials from the Ministry of Commerce reported on the latest efforts to stabilize foreign trade. Representatives from the central committees of the China National Democratic Construction Association and the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League spoke on behalf of collective proposal initiators. Several individual proposal contributors also shared their views. Officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, and the People's Bank of China provided updates on proposal handling and engaged in in-depth exchanges with CPPCC members.