China's Export Continues to Grow: Economists

According to Chinese economists, the country's foreign trade will continue to grow this year following the steady monthly rises since the latter half of last year, as is reported.

The forecast is partly supported by the brisk transactions at the 87th Chinese Export Commodities Fair, which ended Wednesday in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.

According to Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC), 98,000 people attended the Fair, a 7.45 percent increase from that held last autumn.

Some 190 multinational corporations were also at the Fair, at which Business deals worth 13.65 billion US dollars were clinched, a 7.49 percent increase from 1999.

Liu Zenghui, deputy head of the China Import and Export Chamber of Textile Industry, said the 87th Fair experienced brisk trading on the very first day.

Zhou Jie, Development Division Chief of MOFTEC, said the success of the Fair is closely related to the improvement in the overall economy and global trade, especially economic recovery in Southeast Asia from the previous financial crisis.

Due to the negative impact of the Asian financial crisis, in the first half of 1999, China's exports was down by 4.6 percent from the same period in 1998.

However, China's exports has been recovering since the latter half of last year. In the first three months of this year, China exported 15.7 billion U.S. dollars worth of commodities, up 39 percent from the same period last year.

More businesspeople from Southeast Asia attended the Fair. They signed business deals worth 1.36 billion U.S. dollars with Chinese enterprises. Information from Fair also shows that there was a huge demand for Chinese commodities in European and American countries.

Business deals signed between Chinese manufacturers and businesspeople from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America also increased marginally.

Industry experts warn that reforms in foreign trade should be further expanded to make Chinese companies more competitive on the international market.







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