China's Export Situation Still Not Optimistic: OfficialIt is still too early to be optimistic about an increase in China's exports this year, despite the fast growth in exports in the past few months, said a senior Chinese trade official.Zhou Keren, vice-minister of the Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, said a series of preferential policies introduced last year would continue to be implemented this year. China's exports growth rate fell as a result of the Asian financial crisis last year. "The export growth in the first three- month period this year was based on the low figures of last year," said the official at a national meeting on export work. Statistics show that China's total trade stood at 98.22 billion US dollars in the first quarter of this year, up 40 percent on a yearly basis, with exports reaching 51.72 billion US dollars, up 39.1 percent. The country increased the exports to all its major trade partners. China's exports to the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, European Union and the United States increased 57, 30.4, 41.5, 39.3 and 32.8 percent, respectively. Those to Hong Kong, Russia and South Africa, were up 48.3, 76 and 72.5 percent, respectively in the three-month period, while the country's exports to these areas decreased last year. A top priority in China's foreign trade work is to increase exports by all means in 2000, he said. Zhou said his Ministry will entitle the right to export to more state-owned or private enterprises this year, Zhou added. |
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