The Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Commerce in Xiamen, Southeast China's Fujian province, held the commerce work conference on Feb 10, reviewing the achievements of the city's commerce work in 2024, analyzing the current situation, and laying out plans for 2025. 

Chen Haoying, director of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Commerce, presented a work report at the conference. It was acknowledged at the meeting that in 2024, despite a complex and ever-changing external environment, the city's commerce departments stood firm, making significant progress in high-quality development and contributing to the city's overall economic and social development. 

The conference highlighted various achievements in 2024, such as the utilization of 800 million yuan ($109 million) in subsidies for the trade-in of consumer goods, driving consumption worth 76.5 billion yuan; a 14.7 percent growth in export of processing trade; a 51.1 percent increase in cross-border e-commerce imports and exports, and a 17.3 percent growth in service trade imports and exports.

In addition, 765 new projects were signed with a planned investment of 93.9 billion yuan. Around 20 new policies were implemented to promote commerce, consumption, and stable growth. The convention and exhibition economy achieved an economic benefit of approximately 30.98 billion yuan, up 7.8 percent year-on-year, according to the meeting.

It was emphasized at the meeting that in 2025, Xiamen must deepen reforms comprehensively, expand high-level opening-up, accelerate the cultivation of new dynamics for commerce, boost consumption to expand domestic demand, stabilize the foundation of foreign investment and trade, and achieve breakthroughs in high-quality development in commerce. Recognizing that the adverse impacts of external environmental changes are deepening given Xiamen's high degree of economic openness and vulnerability to external demand, the meeting’s participants pointed out that the city is still facing severe challenges in transitioning from old to new growth drivers in commerce. 

They underlined the importance of enhancing awareness of reform and innovation, leading comprehensive reforms through pilot programs, taking proactive and pioneering steps to drive new progress in reform and opening-up, and accumulating new momentum for high-quality development. Efforts should be focused on policy coordination to ensure that commerce operations remain within a reasonable range, the meeting's participants said. 

They called for strengthening efforts at both the supply and demand ends, boosting consumption more vigorously, stabilizing foreign investment and trade, and shaping new advantages in international cooperation. 

It was also noted at the meeting that it is important to leverage the advantages of the city's supply chain, exhibition industry, and port industry to promote the coordinated development of industrial and supply chains, advance the "C&E+" strategy, and accelerate the construction of smart ports.