Ministry of Commerce responds to Meta's acquisition of Manus, China-U.S. economic and trade relations, and other hot topics

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 2 (Reporter: Wang Yuhau, Xie Siyao). At the routine press conference held on April 2, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, He Yadong, responded to hot-button issues including Meta’s acquisition of Manus and China-U.S. economic and trade relations.

A reporter asked: Reports say that the founder of Manus has been banned from leaving China for Singapore. What measures will the Chinese side take regarding the Meta’s acquisition of Manus incident? Also, how much of a technical component percentage needs to be developed in China in order to be considered as coming from China? If a company is registered abroad, does not cite capital within China, and does not provide data on collecting users within China, how will the Chinese side set jurisdiction?

He Yadong responded that regarding the first question you mentioned, the Ministry of Commerce is not aware of the relevant situation. As for the issue of a company operating across borders, the Chinese side has already responded on several occasions in the past. “I would like to reiterate that the Chinese government supports enterprises in carrying out cross-border operations and technology cooperation as needed. Relevant actions must comply with China’s laws and regulations and follow the statutory procedures.”

Speaking about China-U.S. economic and trade relations, He Yadong said that since last year, under the strategic guidance of important consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries, China and the United States have gone through six rounds of economic and trade consultations, achieving a series of consultation outcomes in the economic and trade field, injecting more stability and certainty into bilateral economic and trade relations and the world economy. The facts fully prove that adhering to mutual respect and equal dialogue and consultations is the best way to bridge differences and solve problems. China and the United States should implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries as well as the earlier outcomes of economic and trade consultations, further leverage the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism, strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand practical cooperation, and promote the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations.

Regarding the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0, a reporter asked: What progress has the Ministry of Commerce made in promoting the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0? In particular, in the fields of the digital economy and the green economy, how will China and ASEAN countries deepen industrial-chain cooperation?

He Yadong said that the Protocol on Upgrading the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0 was formally signed on October 28 last year. The upgraded Version 3.0 follows new trends in international economic and trade development and for the first time brings emerging areas such as the digital economy, the green economy, and interconnection in the production–supply–distribution chains into the framework. According to the provisions of the protocol, the agreement will enter into force after approval by China and at least five ASEAN member states. At present, China is synchronously working with ASEAN member states to accelerate their domestic approval procedures for the protocol, striving to have it enter into force and be implemented as soon as possible.

“We will fully release the effectiveness of the protocol, support China’s digital and new energy enterprises in deepening their focus on the ASEAN market, continuously deepen cooperation between the two sides in frontier areas such as cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, financial technology, green equipment, and green power generation, and promote deep integration of the production–supply–distribution chains.” He Yadong said.

The 139th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) will open on April 15. He Yadong said that as of April 1, the number of overseas purchasers who have pre-registered has exceeded 170k. Purchasing companies continue to grow in number, and 279 companies have confirmed to organize groups to attend the event, including Walmart of the United States, King’s Tree of the UK, and Samsung Electronics of South Korea.

“Judging from the registration situation, even in the face of an uncertain external environment, overseas purchasers have still crossed mountains and seas and used their feet to vote, demonstrating their trust in Chinese-made products and their confidence in China’s economy.” He Yadong said.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

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