BEIJING, Jan. 9 -- Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said on Tuesday that China, the world's top trader in terms of goods, is making steady progress toward its goal of becoming a trader of quality.

Wang, when delivering a special report on the nation's foreign trade development at an economic climate seminar held in Beijing, said that China's foreign trade had withstood downward pressure in 2023 as both its scale and share in global trade had remained generally stable.

Meanwhile, the nation's foreign trade structure became more optimized and its partners more diverse in 2023, which fully demonstrated strong resilience, Wang said.

While noting risks and challenges such as sluggish external demand, the minister pointed out that the fundamentals of China's long-term economic growth had not changed, providing strong support for the development of the nation's foreign trade.

"We have the capability and confidence to make new progress in promoting the high-quality development of trade at a higher level," Wang said.

The minister said that the ministry, in line with the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and work arrangements made by the recently held Central Economic Work Conference, will make efforts to expand high-level opening up, cultivate new drivers of foreign trade, expand intermediate goods trade, service trade, digital trade, and cross-border e-commerce exports, and deepen international economic and trade cooperation.