外贸数据显示，今年前两月，欧盟反超东盟成为中国第一大贸易伙伴。对此商务部表示，这反映出中欧贸易较强的韧性和活力，不过这一情况是季节性的还是趋势性的，还有待进一步观察。
Railway and commerce workers take pictures at a railway station in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, on Nov 18, 2021, as they mark the seventh anniversary of a freight train service linking the city with Madrid, Spain. [Photo by Gong Xianming/for China Daily]
With the European Union surpassing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to become China's largest trading partner in the first two months of the year, the China-EU trade demonstrates resilience and vitality, but it will take some more time to figure out if the EU can hold top place over the long term, said Gao Feng, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce, in an online media briefing on Thursday.
商务部发言人高峰在3月17日的在线新闻发布会上表示，欧盟反超东盟，在今年前两个月成为中国第一大贸易伙伴，这反映出中欧贸易较强的韧性和活力，不过这一情况是季节性的还是趋势性的，还有待进一步观察。
"China is willing to join hands with the EU to proactively promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, safeguard the stability and smooth operations of industrial and supply chains, and jointly elevate China-EU economic and trade cooperation to benefit enterprises and people of both sides," he said.
高峰称：“中方愿同欧方一道，积极推动贸易投资自由化便利化，维护产业链供应链稳定畅通，共同把中欧经贸合作的蛋糕越做越大、越做越好，造福双方企业和民众。”
During the January-February period, bilateral trade between China and the EU surged 14.8 percent year-on-year to reach $137.16 billion, which was $570 million more than the ASEAN-China trade value. China and the EU also achieved a record $828.1 billion in bilateral goods trade last year, according to the MOC.
今年前两月，中欧贸易同比增长14.8%，达到1371.6亿美元，比前两月中国-东盟双边贸易额多5.7亿美元。商务部指出，2021年中欧货物贸易额达8281亿美元，亦创历史新高。
"China and the EU are mutually important trading partners, and have strong economic complementarity, wide cooperation space and great development potential," Gao said.
高峰称：“中国和欧盟互为重要贸易伙伴，双方经济互补性强，合作领域广，发展潜力大。”
The spokesman also said the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement in Malaysia from Friday will further boost trade and investment cooperation between China and Malaysia, and benefit enterprises and consumers of both countries as the two countries deliver on their market openness commitments and apply RCEP rules in various areas. That will also enhance the optimization and deep integration of regional industrial and supply chains to make more contributions to regional economic growth, he said.
高峰表示，自3月18日起，区域全面经济伙伴关系协定（RCEP）将对马来西亚正式生效。中马之间相互履行RCEP市场开放承诺和各领域规则，将进一步提升两国贸易投资合作水平，为两国企业和消费者带来更多红利，也将有利于区域产业链供应链优势互补、深度融合，为区域经济增长作出新贡献。
The trade treaty, signed in November 2020 by 15 Asia-Pacific economies, officially took effect on Jan 1 for 10 members, followed by South Korea on Feb 1.
2020年11月，15个亚太经济体正式签署《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》。该协定于2022年1月1日起对10个成员国生效，2022年2月1日起对韩国生效。
China and Malaysia have also been important trading partners for years. China is also the largest trading partner of Malaysia. Data from the Chinese side showed bilateral trade value was worth $176.8 billion in 2021, up 34.5 percent year-on-year.
多年来中国和马来西亚一直互为重要经贸伙伴。中国是马来西亚第一大贸易伙伴。根据中方统计，2021年中马双边贸易额达1768亿美元，同比增长34.5%。
Chinese exports to Malaysia grew about 40 percent to $78.74 billion while its imports from the latter surged about 30 percent to $98.06 billion.
其中，中国对马来西亚出口787.4亿美元，同比增长39.9%；进口980.6亿美元，同比增长30.4%。
Malaysia is also an important outbound direct investment destination for China.
在投资领域，马来西亚是中国对外投资的重要国别。
Gao also said China will continuously expand high-level opening-up and always welcomes investors from any country to do business and expand presence in China. China will also continue to work hard to provide better services to investors from all over the world and create a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment for them, he said.
高峰表示，中国将进一步扩大高水平对外开放，欢迎各国投资者来华投资兴业。商务部也将继续努力，为各国投资者提供更好的服务，打造市场化、法治化、国际化的营商环境。
He also said China's impressive performance in attracting foreign direct investment during the first two months of the year is attributable to the bright long-term prospects of the nation's economic fundamentals that have boosted foreign investor confidence, the effectiveness of Chinese authorities' policy measures to stabilize FDI and the continuously improving business climate in China.
高峰认为，前两月吸收外资保持较高增速有三大原因，一是中国经济长期向好的基本面没有改变，二是稳外资政策效果持续显现，三是我国营商环境不断优化。
Data from the MOC showed China's actual use of foreign capital surged 37.9 percent year-on-year to hit 243.7 billion yuan ($38.39 billion) during the January-February period.
商务部近期公布数据显示，今年1至2月，我国实际使用外资金额2437亿元人民币，同比增长37.9%。
According to a recent survey report jointly released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China and PwC, around two-thirds of the surveyed US companies plan to increase their investment in China this year. Another report, released by the German Chamber of Commerce in China and KPMG, showed nearly 71 percent of German companies in China plan to invest more in the country.
中国美国商会、中国德国商会近期发布的调查报告显示，66%的美资企业和71%的德资企业计划增加在华投资。
Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said China's undented attractiveness to foreign investors showed their long-term confidence in the Chinese economy and China's growing significance in their global market layout.
国际贸易经济合作研究院资深研究员周密表示，中国对外国投资者的吸引力不减，展现出外国投资者对中国经济长期向好的信心以及中国在其全球市场布局中日益重要的地位。
英文来源：中国日报
编译：丹妮
