By IANS,
Beijing : China plans to raise its exports to the developing countries as it believes that the demand from developed nations is unlikely to improve, a senior Chinese foreign trade official has stated.
According to Wang Shouwen, foreign trade department head in the commerce ministry, said China, the world’s top exporter, will face “severe challenges” next year as demand from Europe and the US will not significantly recover and domestic production costs rise, Xinhua reported.
China’s export growth slowed down in the last two months due to weakening international demand, he said.
Rising labour costs, the appreciation of the yuan and more expensive crude materials have also been hurting China’s exporters.
Wang said China’s exporters would focus more on developing countries. The country would also quicken the pace of readjusting its foreign trade structure, support brand-building, and research and development, and introduce more sales channels for companies.
“With these efforts, we believe China’s exports will register good growth next year,” he said.
The Chinese government Wednesday issued a white paper on foreign trade.
China has been the world’s largest exporter and second-largest importer for two consecutive years by the end of 2010, said the white paper, released by the Information Office of the State Council.
China’s total value of its imports and exports reached $2.97 trillion in 2010, 144 times as much as in 1978, averaging an annual growth of 16.8 percent.