In an attempt to achieve more balanced international trade,
China will soon allow domestic companies?to freely?import
a wide range of materials and products.
From April 1 onward, Chinese firms will see formerly crucial
import license lifted for imported products in 338 categories, the
Ministry of Commerce's foreign trade department revealed on its
website yesterday.?
The list of goods includes steel products and plastic materials
but also extends to some machinery and electronic products.
Chinese traders used to need to get an "automatic import
license" for these products, meaning they do not need to get
official approval but their imports will have to be recorded at the
ministry.?
The new?move is part of a slew of operations by the central
government to achieve a more balanced trading plateau, especially
in terms of imports and exports.
To prevent the trade surplus from widening any further, the
government's measures carefully encourage a rise in imports while
restructuring the exports market. In so doing, late last year,
China began scrapping or lowering tax rebates on energy-consuming
or polluting exported products. ?
In April, the Canton Fair (China Import and Export Fair),
China's largest trade event, will inaugurate its imports section,
confining to the pages of history its previous exports-only focus.
?
Despite these encouraging efforts, the first two months of this
year still saw China's trade surplus leap to US$39.64 billion.
Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng on Monday said the
measures will impact positively upon the trade surplus in later
months. "I think things will change in the coming months as
import-encouraging and trade-facilitating measures take effect," he
said.
Gao further warned against expecting a rapid trade balance due
to the country's vast trade figures. He also explained that despite
China's mounting trade surplus with global economic powerhouses,
such as the US or the EU, foreign investors reap the benefits of
this situation above domestic firms.
Chinese top officials have repeatedly denied China is pursuing a
strategy of trade surplus, saying that the country is trying to
improve export quality to upgrade its foreign trade structure.
(China Daily March 28, 2007)