CHINA'S export growth will be even slower in November than October's eight-month low, a senior official at the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday.
"Continuing moderation in exports is a reflection of weaker global demand, especially from the United States and the European Union," said Wang Shouwen, director of the ministry's foreign trade department. "Last month's figure will be even slower than that in October."
The National Bureau of Statistics is due to release the November trade data on Saturday, and some economists expect export growth will be the weakest in two years, excluding a sharp slide in February when the Spring Festival disrupted production.
In October, China's exports rose 15.9 percent from a year earlier to US$157.4 billion. It was the slowest pace in eight months.
Wang Changsheng, executive deputy director at the State Information Center, a research unit under the National Development and Reform Commission, said yesterday in Shanghai that China's economy was set to grow 8.7 percent next year with relatively easing inflation.
"China's domestic demand and investment will maintain its growth, but weakening exports will erode into the overall economic growth," Wang said.
Despite slower growth, trade will continue to contribute positively to China's economic growth, Vice Commerce Minister Chong Quan said yesterday.
"China will make more efforts to bolster imports, and it may help to spur domestic growth," Chong said. "For exports, we will try to stabilize it. Overall, China's trade is a positive contributor in our economy."
Yesterday, the ministry published a white paper to summarize China's trade performance since the late 1970s when the country adopted its opening-up policy. It especially focused on the past decade, a period which began with China joining the World Trade Organization in 2001.
China's exports have increased 4.9 times from 2001, enabling the country to overtake Germany as the world's biggest exporter in 2010.
Imports also jumped 4.7 times, while foreign direct investment in China was ranked top among developing countries. This helped China become the world's second-largest economy last year, the paper said.
China's industrial competitiveness was also greatly enhanced, according to the paper. Exports from China's manufacturing sector jumped nearly five times, and higher-value products such as cars, ships and railway carriages were becoming the new drivers of export growth.
China is now home to 54 companies on the Fortune Global 500 list, compared with only 12 in 2001.
The paper said that IPR protection was essential if China sought to transform its economic growth model and build an innovative country.
It noted that the quality of China's export products had been constantly improving. In 2010, 13.054 million batches of export products were examined by inspection and quarantine authorities, with only 0.14 percent found substandard.
The paper said China will make new adjustments to turn foreign trade from expansion to quality and profit improvement, and from reliance on low-cost advantage to enhancement of its comprehensive competitiveness.
Source:shanghaidaily.com