Foreign trade growth of 15% targeted
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-13 09:19

To Shen Aiqin, quality is more important than quantity.
"The volume of exports is not my primary concern," said Shen, board chairman of Wensli Group.
She is brewing a tough plan - to make Wensli a recognized brand among silk and cotton products in the international market in five years.
"It's difficult to shift from OEM (original equipment manufacturing) for foreign brands to fostering our own brand abroad, but it's the only way for sustainable growth," said Shen, also a deputy to the NPC.
Wensli is one of Zhejiang's largest garment producers.
Shen's comments came at a time when the central government is urging Chinese companies to upgrade the growth pattern of exports.
China has set a foreign trade growth target of 15 per cent for this year, according to a report to the NPC from the National Development and Reform Commission.
"Export volume has grown considerably in recent years to a very high level and international trade frictions are intensifying," said the report.
"Setting the target at 15 per cent should help push enterprises to improve the quality of their trade growth," said the report.
China's foreign trade volume grew by 35.7 per cent last year, with exports rising 35.4 per cent to US$594.3 billion and imports surging 36 pear cent to US$561.4 billion, according to the report.
Officials from Zhejiang Province, one of China's largest export bases, hope that more and more enterprises from Zhejiang will jump on the bandwagon of fostering their own proprietary brands.
"Zhejiang's export volume grew 39 per cent last year and is a huge contributor to the local economy," said Lu Zushan, governor of the eastern province.
"But most of the products are still labour-intensive, consuming a lot of resources and lacking proprietary brands. We must speed up the transformation of the export mix and focus more on the quality of growth in order to ensure steady and fast economic growth," Lu told reporters during the third session of the 10th NPC.
He said the provincial government encourages local enterprises to go abroad and "temper themselves" to improve their international competitiveness.
Lu was echoed by Li Yushi, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a thinktank affiliated to the Ministry of Commerce.
"Blindly increasing export volume will drive down prices and profits, which will prevent enterprises from further technical innovation," Li said.
Target achievable
"It will be hard to keep the same high growth rate of foreign trade at more than 30 per cent this year," Li told China Daily.
"The base (of export volume) of last year is very large. On the other hand, China faces a growing number of trade frictions in export markets and increasing competition from other rival exporting countries," Li said.
But Li said the foreign trade growth rate target set by the central government is achievable and a 20 per cent growth rate will probably be reached.
The timely payment of export tax rebates, along with the repayment of the rebates arrears, is "a great boost" to Chinese exporters, Li said.
On the other hand, foreign direct investment in China will continue to grow steadily this year and the sound development of foreign enterprises provides a solid foundation for export growth, Li said.
Exports from foreign enterprises account for nearly 60 per cent of China's total exports.
China's export volume in the year's first two months reached US$95.28 billion, rising 36.6 per cent year-on-year, the latest customs statistics indicate.
But the nation's import volume grew by only 8.3 per cent year-on-year to US$84.18 billion during the same period.
The slow growth of imports is a result of dropping import demand for raw materials due to the central government's macroeconomic control, Li said.

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