In the first two months of this year, the scale of China's import and export of goods reached a new historical high, with nearly 90% of 16 categories of goods above the quota achieving positive growth, and 39 out of 41 industrial categories experiencing year-on-year growth in added value... The State Council Information Office held a press conference on the 26th to introduce recent data and policies related to production, consumption, import and export, and to respond to external concerns. The consumer market is expected to continue to maintain a positive trend, according to Guo Tingting, Deputy Minister of Commerce. In the first two months of this year, China's retail sales of goods increased by 4.6% year-on-year, with nearly 90% of the 16 categories of products above the designated size achieving positive growth. Among them, the retail sales of communication equipment increased by 16.2% year-on-year; The retail sales of automobiles increased by 8.7% year-on-year, an increase of 2.8 percentage points compared to the entire year last year; The retail sales of household appliances, furniture, and building materials for units above the quota increased by 5.7%, 4.6%, and 2.1% year-on-year, respectively. In addition, the consumption vitality of services such as catering and tourism has increased, and new types of consumption such as digital and green are flourishing. "These new driving forces and highlights will bring greater growth space for consumption throughout the year." Guo Tingting said that with the implementation of various policies and measures to expand domestic demand and promote consumption, the favorable conditions and positive factors supporting consumption growth momentum are constantly increasing, and the endogenous driving force for consumption growth is also continuously strengthening, with new potential constantly being released. The consumer market in our country is expected to continue to maintain a positive trend. Recently, the State Council issued the Action Plan for Promoting Large scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Exchange, which has attracted attention from all parties. Guo Tingting said that the Ministry of Commerce is currently focusing on studying and refining measures, while fully respecting consumer wishes, to promote the conversion of cars into "energy" and gradually increase the sales proportion of new energy vehicles and energy-saving vehicles; Promote the transformation of household appliances into smart ones, and promote the development of household appliance consumption towards intelligence, greenness, and low-carbon; Promote the renovation of home furnishings, kitchens, and bathrooms, and support the renovation and partial renovation of more existing and second-hand houses. Wang Lingjun, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, said that in the first two months of this year, China's imports and exports reached a new historical high of 6.61 trillion yuan, accelerating the cultivation of new energy for foreign trade. In the current sluggish international market, achieving such results is commendable and inspiring. How to view the foreign trade situation in the future period? Guo Tingting said that China's foreign trade has a solid foundation, strong resilience, and abundant vitality. At the same time, it should also be noted that China's foreign trade still faces a very severe external situation. The recovery momentum of external demand remains unstable, and multiple international organizations predict that the global economic growth rate in 2024 will be lower than the historical average level. The World Bank predicts that the global trade growth rate is only half of the average growth rate in the 10 years before the pandemic. Geopolitical conflicts and "super election years" all bring more variables. The escalation of protectionism and unilateralism seriously disrupts the stable operation of global industrial and supply chains, and brings interference and obstacles to foreign trade enterprises in exploring international markets. "This year, we will make every effort to achieve the goal of improving the quality and stabilizing the volume of foreign trade, with a focus on cultivating new driving forces and expanding new growth points." Guo Tingting said that she will focus on the entire supply chain process and deepen systematic cooperation with willing trading partners, from raw materials, semi-finished products to finished products. Focusing on processing trade and implementing measures to enhance the development level of processing trade