The Straits Times
Dec 3, 2008 |
China to boost exports
BEIJING - CHINA will go all-out to boost exports and expand domestic consumption as the country increasingly feels the pinch of the global financial crisis, state media reported, citing Vice Premier Wang Qishan.
China will 'try a thousand methods and a hundred plans' to 'stabilise the export market", Mr Wang said, using a Chinese proverb to highlight the urgent need to spur external trade, Xinhua news agency said in a dispatch late on Tuesday.
Speaking during a meeting with local officials and corporate heads, Mr Wang called for more measures to 'optimise the export structure' and explore new markets to cushion the negative impact of the global economic downturn.
The report did not elaborate but China has been seeking to diversify its export base away from cheap labour-intensive products toward higher-value goods.
Mr Wang's comments came just days after President Hu Jintao said China is 'losing its competitive advantages' due to intensifying competition and rising protectionism.
The Chinese government has been watching with anxiety as the nation's export growth slows, with many factories in the industrialised south closing and the economy expanding at the slowest rate in five years.
Last month Beijing announced a US$586 billion (S$896.7 billion) stimulus package to be spent on infrastructure and other projects. The plan is aimed at boosting domestic consumption to counter slowing exports.
China will implement the plan 'as soon as possible", taking steps such as helping firms to access loans, building commercial outlets and promoting sales of home appliances in the countryside, Mr Wang said, according to Xinhua.
Mr Wang is due to meet US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Thursday and Friday for the fifth Strategic Economic Dialogue, in which a series of trade and other issues, particularly those concerning the crisis, are expected to be discussed. -- AFP
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