Some 244 import and export traders were A-rated in the first credit rating for foreign traders.

The 244 companies include State powers such as Sinosteel Corporation, China National Electronics Import & Export Corp, brand names like Guangdong Galanz Enterprises Co Ltd, Ningbo Bird Co Ltd and other small but well-behaved traders.

It is the first batch of companies getting rated by a credit rating system for China's import-export traders.

The rating system has been tentatively established by the China Shipper's Association, which is authorized by the Ministry of Commerce to fill in the blanks in this field.

More than 300 companies applied for the rating on a voluntary basis.

The association has stipulated rating rules and set up the Credit System Expert Committee.

The rating is completed according to 18 standards, such as the company's brand recognition, its quality certification, its record in the use of licenses and quotas, its record in tax payment, its legal use of intellectual property rights, its trade volume and its financial strength.

Yuan Xueyou, chairman of the association, said China has become the world's trading power, but its trade credit system fails to match this standing.

The misbehaviour of some traders, who are seldom punished, has had a negative impact on China's reputation.

Yuan expected more well-behaved companies will participate in the rating to get a good mark.

The ratings will be reviewed every two years.

The credit rating and archives the system provides can help foreign companies better distinguish the bad from the good.

Foreign companies often encounter difficulties in assessing Chinese companies' credit, which takes them a long time.

Shen Jieyu, an official from Ningbo Foreign Traders' Association, said if there is an official credit-rating system, doing business will be easier for those with good records.

But she also suggested the government use punishment more frequently on those foreign traders that misbehave.

The revised foreign trade law, implemented last July, added sanctions against illegal operations, including criminal penalties, administrative penalties and cancellation of traders' qualifications.

(China Daily March 19, 2005)