China aims to increase foreign trade by around 10 percent this year, a much slower pace than 2011, as it faces a "grim" outlook for boosting exports, the Xinhua news agency on Saturday quoting a senior economic planning official as saying. "We expect more difficulties in foreign trade and the export situation will be grim in 2012, especially in the first half of the year," Zhang Xiaoqiang, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission told a forum.
The customs agency said this week that China's exports and imports grew at their slowest pace in more than two years in December, fresh evidence of cooling domestic and global economic conditions that could push Beijing towards a more pro-growth policy stance. The total value of China's imports and exports finished 2011 at an all-time high of $3.6 trillion. But the overall trade surplus shrank to a three-year low of $155 billion from 2010's $183.1 billion. Zhang said financial products should be developed to help exporters hedge against exchange rate fluctuations, while the value of the yuan should be kept stable.
The use of the yuan in cross-border trade settlements should be further encouraged and the government should reduce import tariffs on some energy products, raw materials, advanced technologies and key components to boost imports, Zhang said. He also warned China could encounter more trade barriers. "When we go through a difficult time, we should stand more firmly against trade protectionism," Zhang told the forum.
Comments
Comments are closed.