BEIJING: Citing India and Vietnam as major competitors challenging its vast export markets, China has downgraded its foreign trade target to six percent next year from this year’s 7.5 percent this year.
“As other developing economies such as India and Vietnam pose a greater challenge for Chinese businesses in developed markets, especially in the field of low-end manufacturing, exporters in China will be encouraged to develop new competitive edges through building brands, overseas acquisition, better services, research centers and global sales networks,” Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said.
Gao Hucheng said that the ministry’s main tasks next year will be stabilising external demand, improving the quality of high-end manufacturing and adjusting the industrial structure, state-run China Daily reported today.
China has set a growth target for foreign trade at 6 percent for next year, down from about 7.5 percent in 2014, the paper said.
Defending the slashing of the trade target, Ren Hongbin, executive vice-president of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, (CAITEC) the Commerce Ministry’s think tank, said it is a prudent move amid a challenging external environment and growing efforts to expand domestic demand.
