Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai said on Monday that China's economic development has not only created employment opportunities for other countries, but also benefited consumers in foreign countries with its high-quality, low-priced goods.

Speaking at the China Development Forum 2005, Bo said from 1979 to 2004, China's per capita GDP had risen from 181 US dollars to 1,200 US dollars, and foreign trade volume had risen from 20 billion US dollars to 1.1 trillion US dollars. Its population under the poverty line has decreased from 250 million to 26 million. The overall quality of life of Chinese citizens has been continuously improved.

He said that, with high quality and low prices, goods made in China have helped buying countries to cut expenditure and raise consumption levels, greatly improving consumers' welfare in relevant countries.

He said that although China's GDP is barely four percent of the world's total, it contributes more than 10 percent of the global economic growth; China's foreign trade volume is less than six percent of the world's total, but it contributes some 12 percent of global trade growth. China's economic development has thus become an increasingly important driving force behind the world economy.

"Although China-made products have become a competitive force in some foreign markets, they have brought about benefits to local consumers as well, lowering the living cost of many European and American families," he said.

He said that over the three years since China joined the World Trade Organization, it has imported 1.2 trillion US dollars worth of goods. In fact, China's annual average import has been growing at more than 20 percent, increasing production and employment opportunities for foreign countries.

"China's development is a process of participation and profit-sharing by foreign capital," he said, "international companies expanded their development room in China. From 1990 to 2003, foreign investors in China remitted profits of over 227.9 billion US dollars back home. At the same time, China's increased investment in foreign countries has also promoted local growth and employment."