日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

National

Regional

Taiwan, HK, Macao

Special Coverage

Focus

Society

Profiles

Official: foreign trade set to decline in H1

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-04 16:17

BEIJING -- China's foreign trade sector now faces unprecedented difficulties and is set to decline in the first half year, said Vice Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan Wednesday.

Related readings:  Geithner's China trip to focus on trade  US trade move draws criticism  China, Brazil have huge trade potential: former ambassador  EU, China agree to promote trade, investment  China tops US as leading Brazil trade partner

It's increasingly difficult to make a quick turnaround and the situation will remain gloomy in the second half year, Zhong said.

He made the remarks at a national meeting on export credit insurance held by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the China Export and Credit Insurance Corp. (Sinosure), a policy-oriented insurer.

China should extend export credit insurance coverage and lower insurance rates to help exporters cut risks and insurers should help realize the State Council's aim to allocate US$84 billion of short-term export credit insurance scale this year and allocate special funds for large equipment exports, Zhong said.

Zhong urged more focus on exports of labor-intensive products and high-tech products and stressed the importance of upgrading trade structure.

Exports in April fell 22.6 percent from a year earlier, the sixth straight monthly decline, figures from the General Administration of Customs showed.

"There is no doubt China's foreign trade will decline this year as global demand remains sluggish," Zhuang Jian, a senior economist with the Asian Development Bank office in Beijing, told Xinhua Thursday.

"Though there are some positive signals, for example growing shipping, they are not likely to be sustainable. If obvious recovery signals from major economies could be seen at the end of the year, China's trade might start to grow," Zhuang said.