Beijing: China Saturday said its trade surplus
is likely fall noticeably this year despite increasing exports
as the future outlook for this year appeared not optimistic.
Exports growth would slow after July, while imports would
remain robust, China's Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian
said at a briefing here today.
He said the 48.5 per cent surge in exports in May was due
to a low comparison basis last year and China's trade surplus
in the first five months fell 59.9 per cent to USD 35.39
billion. The figure in 2009 topped USD 196.07 billion.
Yao attributed the weak export outlook to the European
sovereign debt crisis, rising commodity prices and labour
costs.
"In the following months, the fallout from the debt
crisis in Europe would gradually become apparent, and China
would closely watch changes in its important exports markets
including Germany, Spain and Italy," Yao said.
China would maintain stable trade policies amid the
crisis, and might adjust some policies in some specific
industries for environmental protection purposes.
"Stable trade policies are a top priority when the
external outlook is not clear," Xinhua quoted him as saying.
Yao also said that attempts by some US lawmakers to
include China's exchange rate policy into trade investigations
on China's exports of aluminum extrusions and coated paper
lacked factual support and did not conform to rules of the
World Trade Organisation.
The WTO regulated trade policies instead of a country's
overall financial or foreign exchange policies, he said.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, June 12, 2010, 20:10