Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of C : China's foreign trade to slow to 7 pct in Jan-Feb: minister
06/27/2012| 05:14pm US/Eastern
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China's export and import growth is anticipated to slow to
around 7 percent year-on-year for the first two months of 2012
due to seasonal factors, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said
Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference, Chen said he believes China
will continue to see a modest increase in foreign trade this
year, with the situation likely to improve in the second half
of the year.
He said China will be able to achieve the 10-percent foreign
trade growth specified in Premier Wen Jiabao's government
work report, which was delivered to the annual session of the
National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature,
on Monday.
"With our efforts, the annual 10-percent growth target for
foreign trade is attainable," he said.
The General Administration of Customs will release official
trade data for February later this week.
During the first two months of 2011, China's foreign trade
totaled 495.83 billion U.S. dollars, representing a
28.3-percent year-on-year growth.
Chen attributed this year's slowdown in foreign trade to
tighter environments at home and abroad and the deepening of
the global financial crisis, citing the impact of the European
debt crisis on consumption.
Domestically, rising costs have pushed up the prices of goods
and services, he said.
Since August last year, China's exports have slowed, from a
year-on-year growth of 27.8 percent in August to 12 percent in
December.
To achieve a 10-percent growth in imports and exports, Chen
said China needs to stabilize its import and export policies,
reduce tax burdens and increase financial support for
exporters.
While stabilizing exports, China will continue to encourage
imports of advanced technology, equipment, raw materials and
consumer goods to balance trade with countries that account for
the majority of China's trade surplus, he said.
The minister pledged to establish more trading mechanisms in
order to encourage more underdeveloped countries and emerging
economies to trade with China this year.
China's trade surplus had dropped for four years in a row
in 2011, with the trade surplus accounting for only 2.1 percent
of the country's GDP.
China has set a good example by meeting a guideline for Group
of 20 countries that requires their trade surplus-to-GDP ratios
to remain below 4 percent, Chen said.
The guideline was proposed by the United States and discussed
by China and other G20 countries.
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