At the Sunday opening ceremony of the first World Industrial and Commercial Organizations (WICO) Summit, Vice- Premier Huang Ju said that industrial and commercial organizations (ICOs) are an important link between enterprises and governments. They are conducive to promoting the multilateral trade system and strengthening cooperation between enterprises in different countries and regions

The summit, initiated by the China Federation of Industrial Economics, is a platform for world (ICOs) to exchange ideas. Over 300 delegates from more than 70 countries are attending.

This will be all the more important as the world economy recovers and the once-deadlocked Doha Development Agenda of the WTO comes back on track, said Dan Christman, senior vice president of the US Chamber of Commerce.

He also said that China will accelerate legislation on ICOs to clarify their legal status. This will enable the best use to be made of their roles in developing industrial standards, promoting international exchanges and mediating trade disputes.

Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai said at the forum opening that China's imports and exports will reach US$1 trillion this year. In 2003, total imports and exports reached US$850 billion, and in the first seven months of this year they grew 38 percent from the same period in 2003.

"With the current development trend, it is estimated that the imports and exports this year will be over US$1 trillion," Bo said.

He pointed out that China needs to import large amounts of goods to satisfy growing domestic demand.

In the past 25 years, the growth rate of imports was 15 percent, 10 percent higher than the worldwide average. With 410 billion dollars of imports from all trading partners, China is the third largest importing country, following the US and Germany.

According to Bo, China will provide high quality and inexpensive goods to the international market while it continues to import large amounts of advanced equipment, high-technology products, raw materials and competitive consumer goods.

Sales of consumer goods and plant and equipment are expected to reach 15 trillion yuan (US$1.8 trillion) in China this year.

The government is placing particular emphasis on encouraging consumption. "Housing, cars, electronic and telecommunication equipment, tourism and education have become new consumption trends in urban and rural families," said Bo.

By 2010, China expects to have 100 million middle-class households, with assets per household valued at more than US$70,000

(China Daily September 20, 2004)