The China Export Commodities Fair will remain an important channel of foreign trade after the country's entry into the World Trade Organization.
The two-week fair, the 90th of its kind, opened on Monday in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.
At a news briefing over the weekend, Wang Hui, a senior official with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC), said that in the foreseeable future, the fair would continue to play an important role in the country's foreign trade, especially in the aspect of export by general trade.
According to Wang, business deals struck at the biannual fair account for one-third of the country's export through general trade.
Wang also noted that more should be done to improve services at the fair and to prepare the country for the opportunities and challenges that the WTO admission will bring.
MOFTEC spokeswoman Gao Yan promised that the fair would help to bridge domestic and overseas markets following the WTO entry.
(Xinhua News Agency 10/16/2001)
