Fair foretells grim trade outlook, rebalancing

Economic rebalance: A way out

The recovery of trade will restore vitality to the global economy, and this is a necessary step in realizing global economic rebalancing, experts say.

Mao Huimin, vice president of Zhejiang-based Andeli Group, said company sales this year are expected to rise 20 percent despite the economic hardship.

Mao attributed the success mainly to the company broadening its market beyond Europe and the United States.

Andeli is a leading producer in the country's machinery and electric industry, with products ranging from circuit breakers and current transformers, to distribution boxes and welding and cutter machines.

While sales to Europe have dropped since last year, the company has managed to expand in other markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South Africa and Latin America, Mao said.

"Though the European and U.S. markets remain dominant in our trade, developing countries are catching up from behind, and their shares on the world market will further rise," Mao said.

Stringent overseas demand has also forced Chinese manufacturers to reconsider the domestic market, and experts say this will bring fundamental changes to the global market as well as the industrial scenario.

China has experienced a relatively high growth of over 20 percent in its foreign trade over the past decade, partly thanks to the country's ascension to the World Trade Organization in 2011.

With rising pressure from overseas markets, the Chinese government is encouraging export-oriented companies to take another look at the domestic market.

Ruan Moteng, a marketing manager with Yingli Green Energy, one of the country's largest solar panel makers, said the Chinese market has accounted for about one-third of the company's shares, although the majority was taken by the European and U.S. Markets.

But with trade protectionism escalating in these two major markets, many Chinese solar energy companies like Yingli Green Energy are trying to expand their businesses at home and in other emerging markets.

Experts say the global economic rebalancing is speeding up, characterized by a transfer of Chinese labor-intensive industries such as garment manufacturing to neighboring countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, though a massive industrial drain is not likely for a long period of time.

Statistics from Guangdong authorities show that a total of 41 investment projects have moved out of the province to seven other countries within the year.

Among the projects, which were mainly focused on garment and shoe manufacturing, 15 went to Malaysia and 13 moved to Vietnam.