Government and Policy

Official: China's foreign trade towards balance

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-10 21:11

Wang Xiaoguang, a research fellow at the Policy Advisory Department of the Chinese Academy of Governance, said he expected foreign trade to steadily expand this year as China's trade surplus continued to shrink.

Growth in exports would slow while that of imports would pick up amid a strong rebound in investment this year, the first year of China's 12th five-year plan, Wang said.

However, he did not expect growth figures to be very impressive, given a higher comparison basis last year, estimating export growth would remain at around 10 percent year on year.

Zhao Jinping, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council, said the customs data showed China had entered a new round of growth in foreign trade after recovering from the global crisis.

But he warned there were still uncertainties this year, including high unemployment in Western countries, rising protectionism, and pressure for the yuan's appreciation.

However, Wang Tao, chief economist with the UBS Securities, said the decline in the trade surplus was due to the higher growth in import prices than that of exports last year.

"The rises in imported commodity prices last year will not persist, and trade surplus will be back to growth and rise above the 200-billion-US dollar level this year," she said, adding there was still pressure for the yuan to appreciate.

Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay a state visit to the United States from January 18 to 21 at the invitation of US President Barack Obama. Trade and the yuan exchange rate are among the issues that are expected to be touched on during the visit.

A report from the State Information Center released Monday forecast China's imports would climb 20 percent while exports would rise by 16 percent this year. The trade surplus would fall 13.2 percent to 165 billion US dollars year on year.