MOFTEC Offers Training to Private Firms 　　The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of China (MOFTEC) plans to sponsor training sessions for 20 private firms which are to be granted import and export authority. 　　MOFTEC sources said on January 8 that the training sessions are designed to familiarize the firms with China's foreign trade policies and practices. 　　The recent approval of authority to the firms marked the first time that the private Chinese firms have been able to trade on equal terms with state-owned or collective enterprises. 　　A central conference on economic work held in December last year outlined the nation's economic goals for 1999 and called for an all-out effort to increase exports. 　　Statistics show that private businesses increased textile exports for the first 10 months of last year by some 400 percent. Experts have expressed optimism that private business will emerge as a new growth point. 　　However, they said that related firms will face stiff competition when entering the international market for the first time. 　　MOFTEC officials noted that 20 firms have total registered capital of 1.362 billion yuan, or an average 68 million yuan each. 　　 Economicnews 1999-01-09 Page2 Full Story in Chinese