China's trade surplus diminished sharply by more than 80
percent, year-on-year in September, moving towards a balanced trade
relation with other countries and regions in the world.
Statistics from the General Administration of Customs Wednesday
indicated that the country only recorded a US$290 million trade
surplus in its foreign trade in September, down from last
September's US$2.12 billion, while the trade surplus in August was
US$2.79 billion with a 26 percent year-on-year growth.
The total foreign trade of the world's most populous country
reached US$606 billion in the first nine months, rising 36.3
percent.
China sold US$308 billion worth of goods and services to other
parts of the world, growing 32.3 percent, while its imports grew by
40.5 percent to US$299 billion in the period.
"People's minds are changing from purely pursuing big numbers in
trade surpluses to achieving a balanced and healthy trade
relation,'' said Song Hong, a researcher with the Institute of
World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of
Sciences.
He pointed out that the fact that import growth overtaking
export growth has become a trend since China's entry into the World
Trade Organization in 2001.
He explained that as China has been lifting import restrictions
and opening its market to other countries and regions, the growth
of imports has become rapid.
At the same time, since many foreign-invested companies gain
rights to sell products locally, they tend to import more raw
materials but sell finished products in China, which also increases
China's imports and reduces exports, Song added.
He said the result would be a help to ease pressure from the
United States to some extent.
Figures from the United States Department of Commerce showed
last week that its trade deficit with China had reached a record
high of US$11.7 billion. The Chinese official figure was US$5.8
billion.
There is usually a big difference between the figures of the two
countries, due to different statistical methods.
Thomas Donohoe, chairman and chief executive officer of the US
Chamber of Commerce, was impressed by the increasing growth of
imports in China.
"I am pleased that June-August numbers are achieving better
growth rates,'' he said at a press conference Wednesday.
"Our hope is that the table will be balanced and China will
purchase more products and services from the United States.''
Wan Jifei, chairman of the China Council for
the Promotion of International Trade, said that a large portion
of Chinese exports to the United States were actually made by
US-invested companies in China.
He also called for the US government to lift restrictions on the
exports of high-tech products.
"We want to have more high-tech products and services, but it
seems that the United States has a very tight control on exporting
(those products) to China,'' Wan said.
The chambers of commerce of the two countries held their first
annual US-China Business Dialogue in Beijing on Tuesday and
Wednesday to discuss economic and trade issues between the two
countries.
(China Daily October 16, 2003)