By BERNAMA,
BEIJING : With the global crisis depressing its growth to nine per cent with heavy job losses last year, China will ramp up distribution networks and build local heavyweight retailers like Walmart, to boost domestic demand.
However, the country will not have a ‘Buy China’ policy, a senior commerce official said Monday.
“Invigorating the circulation sector is highly significant in terms of sustaining the steady and relatively fast growth of our economy and securing this year’s economic growth target of roughly eight per cent,” Vice-Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei told reporters.
He said there would be “no distinction” to buy American or China-made products as the government sought to boost rural consumption and new measures for the world’s third largest economy and most populous nation to spend its way out of the crisis.
“Any country in today’s world cannot satisfy the domestic market with domestic production…we will treat domestic or foreign goods equally,” he replied when asked if China would copy moves by the United States which is mulling ‘Buy American’ to use only domestic made steel and iron in its stimulus financial package.
As exports dipped, China’s three decades of break-neck growth slowed to nine per cent for 2008, the lowest in seven years, from 13 per cent in 2007, putting pressure on the government to create jobs for millions of migrant workers and fresh graduates.
China had said it would boost domestic consumption and also announced a four trillion yuan stimulus package in November.
Jiang said the Chinese economy was increasingly hit by the international financial crisis which had yet to bottom.
“A slowing economy has dented residential income increases and sent noises into consumer psychology. Some hotspots of consumption are starting to cool off,” he added.
An upgrade of the country’s largely under-developed market systems, particularly rural areas, would not only boost prices and demand but also help create jobs, he said.
Amid scares over product safety, including the Sanlu melamine-tainted milk infant formula last year, Jiang said authorities would continue to crackdown on fraud and shoddy commodities to improve markets and promote “safe consumption”.
Increased savings and the growing incomes of urban and rural people were among the favourable factors he listed to back the government’s optimism in boosting distribution and demand.
Jiang said the year has seen a “bullish opening” by consumers who spent 290 billion yuan (RM145 billion), an increase of 13.8 per cent, for the 15-day Lunar New Year festivities.