China's export expected to grow by 10% in 2010

China's export will see a smaller decline rate in late 2009 and is expected to grow by 10 percent in 2010, said Zhang Xiaoji, director of the Foreign Economic Relations Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council of China.

In the third quarter of 2009, China's export turnover has been higher than 100 billion U.S. dollars for three consecutive months. According to the export-oriented enterprises, overseas orders have boomed recently. Zhang noted that monthly export would be higher than the 100 billion U.S. dollars level. Total export in the whole 2009 will see a negative growth of 17 percent.

Statistics from the U.S. showed that from January to August 2009 products from China accounted for 18.8 percent of U.S.' total import which is 2.7 percentage points higher than that of the whole 2008. From January to May, although China's garment and textile export declined by 11.13 percent, China's share in the U.S. market increased by 3.75 percentage points. "This showed Chinese products' high competitiveness," said Zhang.

As the export sector faced the most severe impact from the global financial crisis, market effect will help improve China's export structure. "The global financial crisis provided a good chance to eliminate backward production capacity."

Due to slow global recovery, hard-hit financial system in the developed countries and growing saving rate in the U.S., it will be difficult for global trade to pick up a strong upward trend. Zhang estimated that China's export would grow by 10 percent in 2010 but will struggle to reach the peak of 2008.

He pointed out that the pressure of Renminbi appreciation and protectionism would be two major challenges facing China's export sector. In the first eight months this year, 17 countries and regions established 79 trade relief probes into products from China, up 16.2 percent year on year.

"China's foreign trade policies should shift to focus on economic structure optimization and the transformation of the economic growth mode, utilizing overseas market to improve resource allocation and seizing the chance of market recovery and market share expansion to further optimize industrial structure," Zhang said.

By People's Daily Online