Township Enterprises to See Increasing ExportBy 2005, China's township enterprises will export 1,270 billion yuan's worth of goods, up eight percent annually, according to a working conference held Monday.To hit this target, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) will set up close contacts with key export-oriented township enterprises, according to Qi Jingfa, Vice-Minister of Agriculture at the two-day conference. Qi noted that the current trend of economic globalization will provide more opportunities for township enterprises to develop, but admitted that these enterprises have to improve their competitive edge to meet the fierce international competition. Zhou Keren, vice-minister of MOFTEC, also said that township enterprises will face challenges from China's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO), as China has promised to further open its agricultural market. Township enterprises now contribute considerably to China's export. Statistics show that in 2000, these enterprises exported 867 billion yuan's worth of goods. By 2000, township enterprises had set up 1,765 companies overseas, backed by investment of 16 billion yuan. |
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