Address on current economy

Third, we have expanded opening-up. Thanks to efforts made in the past several decades, China has become the second largest economy in the world. This is also attributable to the growing competitiveness of our export sector. Many of you have visited other countries, and you can see "made in China" signs everywhere in the world. However, the global economy remains weak and the World Trade Organization has lowered its forecast of global trade volume and trade growth several times. A trade war seems to be looming, as many countries are resorting to trade protectionism to protect domestic industries and jobs. But what they are actually protecting is backwardness, and they will lose out eventually. As a big country, China mainly relies on domestic demand, but that does not mean we should neglect ensuring stable growth in export. Because currently, the export sector alone employs some 30 million people; if other related industries are included, about 100 million jobs are created. If export plummets, it will cause unemployment. That is why we should continue to engage with the rest of the world, uphold our national interests and resolutely oppose trade protectionism as is justified and in an appropriate manner. You may still remember the dispute we had with Europe over photovoltaic products back in April and May this year, which was triggered by the EU's so-called "anti-dumping and countervailing duty" investigation against Chinese photovoltaic products. When I visited Europe at that time, I told the leaders of the European countries I visited that this move would only hurt China without serving themselves any good. If the EU were to conduct the so-called "anti-dumping and countervailing duty" investigation and impose a 47% punitive tariff on Chinese photovoltaic products, all our photovoltaic companies would lose the European market. So I told the European leaders China would have no choice but to take countermeasures. When I came back from Europe, I paid a visit to the largest photovoltaic company in China. The company officials told me that although China negotiated a two-month grace period with Europe, their company could still not survive if the tariff were to be raised to such a high level when the two-month grace period ends. How many people are employed in the photovoltaic industry in China? 400,000. And the question is not just about the jobs of 400,000 people. If the EU succeeded in taking this protectionist move against China, its members would keep raising new issues. There will be many more trade wars and sanctions against China. As China is the largest exporter in the world, we must firmly oppose trade protectionism and resolutely oppose "anti-dumping and countervailing duty" investigation and other protectionist measures. Therefore, in a telephone conversation with the EU leader later in Beijing, I urged the EU not to pursue this course, and the dispute was finally resolved through consultations between the two sides.

During my recent visit to Thailand, I also made great effort to promote China's high-speed railway. I told them we have advanced, safe and reliable technologies and rich experience in operation. Our companies should enter the international market. We should not just buy things from others, but also sell value-added products. We should sell to other countries not just clothes, shoes, hats or general products, but also finished goods, especially medium- and high-end products. There is still a lot we can do in this respect.