China loses WTO car parts case against US

China's exports fell 26.4 percent in May from a year ago to 88.76 billion U.S. dollars, following a decline of 22.6 percent in April. Exports in the five months to May totaled 426.14 billion U.S. dollars, down 21.8 percent.  (Xinhua News)  

China Trade Show Related News:

• Small commodities fair to lure 110,000 businessmen Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Over 110,000 domestic and foreign business people from 130 countries and regions will display and sell products during a trade fair from Monday to Friday to in Yiwu City, east China's Zhejiang Province. More than 200,000 kinds of small commodities produced by over 2,565 domestic and overseas factories are on display at the 2007 China Yiwu International Small Commodities Exposition, the fair organizers said on Sunday. There are 4,500 booths for the exhibitors, covering a floor area of 90,000 square meters, they said.  A series of lectures, forums and presentations will be held as part of the international commodities fair, which was launched in 1995.Last year, the fair reached a total trade value of 9.45 billion yuan (1.26 billion U.S. dollars), including 780 million U.S. dollars export. Yiwu has turned into Asia's largest marketplace of small commodities ranging from needles and buttons to lighters and playing cards, since China launched its reform and opening drive 29 years ago. Zhejiang, one of the fastest developed provinces in the country, is home to many factories producing small commodities in large quantities 
   
• Macao Int'l Trade and Investment Fair opens Oct. 18  -- The Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) opened here Thursday, attracting 236 commerce and trade delegations from 50 countries and regions. The fair, sponsored by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (MTIPI), boasts an event for over 30 seminars, conferences and product promotion programs. It features a 18,000-square-meter exhibition area and 889 exhibition booths. The four-day annual event has become an important trade platform for enterprises from the Chinese mainland, European and Portuguese-speaking countries, the organizers said. (Xinhua)

Four major obstacles to Chinese foreign trade
People's Daily Online June 27, 2006 - The period of the 11th five-year plan is very important for China. According to Zhang Lichuan, a Director with the Statistical Department of General Administration of Customs of China, to be a recognized trading power China must commit to the search for solutions to emerging issues in foreign trade. She also said that the Chinese government should focus on four major hurdles in the field of foreign trade.

• Firstly, China should deal with pressure from international markets that are gradually becoming saturated. In 2005, the volume of Chinese exports ranked third in the world, making up 7.3 per cent of the world's total volume, 3.4 percentage points up from 2000. In 2005, ranked among the world's top ten countries in terms of export volume, China is growing much faster than the other nine countries. The growth rate of Chinese exports exceeds the world's average rate of 13 per cent. As a result, the growth of Chinese exports is increasingly subjected to international markets.
• Secondly, the cost of Chinese exports is increasing, partly because of the higher cost of labor and environmental protection. Cheap labor is the foundation of the Chinese economy. However, the worker shortage apparent in some areas of China indicates that it is inappropriate to sacrifice workers' welfare for the sake of low export prices and the Chinese government should change the situation. In recent years, China has tightened restrictions on the export of products that consume a lot of energy, create a lot of pollution or use a lot of resources in their production. Limited resources and the environment have become major obstacles to the growth of Chinese exports.
• Thirdly, increasing international trade protection has caused China to stumble into difficult territory. China has been involved in the world's largest number of anti-dumping cases in recent years.
• Finally, the trade imbalance between China and other countries is getting worse. As the Renminbi appreciates, Chinese enterprises will face greater exchange risks in import-export trade. Increasing pressures from the appreciating Renminbi will create new requirements and challenges for Chinese enterprises engaged in import-export trade.

• China's coal exports down, while imports up as export tariff bites Oct. 18, 2007
• China's iron, copper ore imports up with freight, demand surge Oct. 18, 2007
• China's cotton exports rise 32.29% Oct. 19, 2007
• Opening-up of financial securities market back on track Oct. 18, 2007- China will soon resume accepting applications for Sino-foreign securities joint ventures.
• China Holds Its Biggest Trade Fair Oct. 16, 2007
• China's trade surplus hits $185.7 bln in first 9 months Oct. 12, 2007
• China approves new free-trade harbor area to boost trade with ASEAN Oct. 11, 2007
• China to hold fair for Latin American, Central and Eastern European commodities Sep. 27, 2007
  China is to hold a trade fair for commodities from Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe in Beijing from Nov. 22 to 24, according to the Ministry of Commerce. "The fair will feature about 200 booths with a total area of 5,000 square meters," said Wang Xinpei, the ministry's spokesman, at a regular press conference.
• China rejects beetle-infested soybean imports from U.S.Sep. 28, 2007
  A statement from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said the 460 tons of soybeans shipped by the U.S.-based Scoular Company contained the beetles and "other species of harmful insects", without elaborating. Ragweed seeds were also detected in the 21 containers.
• China ends forex reward system for exporters
  July 10, 2007, Xinhua - China has scrapped a reward scheme set up eight years ago that gave preferential treatment to domestic companies which earned the largest amounts of foreign currency in the latest attempt to keep tabs on its soaring trade surplus and foreign exchange reserves. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange and the Ministry of Commerce on Monday told local foreign exchange and trade departments in a joint statement to stop grading local companies based upon their previous year's foreign currency revenue. The regulation took effect on July 1. (Click title of this news for full report.)
•  Trade war? Report for duty, April 5, 2007, Asia Times Online April 5, 2007.

Comment: A game not really worth the candle!
People's Daily, April 24, 2007 - The United States has filed two lawsuits against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over intellectual property infringement, charging it with rampant piracy and restricting American movies and music products and books from entering into the country. This is the third time the Bush administration, facing Congressional pressure in the sphere of trade, has lodged complaints against China and imposed pressure upon it. This US move is not wise, and will eventually be a pure game not really worth the candle, and even American media and relevant researchers hold such a viewpoint. (Click for full article.)

China to import 355 mln tons of iron ore next year
Xinhua, Dec. 30, 2006 -  China will import the bulk of the world's increasing demand for iron ore next year, with imports expected to rise by 30 million tons to 355 million tons in 2007,an industry report says. The China Iron and Steel Association (CSIA) predicted that international demand and supply would remain stable next year. China's largest steelmaker, the Baosteel Group Corp, has settled the iron ore price for 2007, at a 9.5 percent increase from last year, with the major iron ore producers, including Brazilian Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD). (Full report)

China to adjust export tax rebate rates from tomorrow
China will adjust some of its export tax rebate rates from tomorrow, aiming to achieve greater trade balance, according to a joint statement by five government agencies. (Click for full report)

Monthly trade surplus hits new high
Nov. 8, 2006 - China said Wednesday its trade surplus hit a record monthly high in October as exports soared and import growth fell amid government efforts to cool off the sizzling economy. The surplus in October jumped to US$23.8 billion, up 27 percent from the previous high of US$18.8 billion in August, according to the General Administration of Customs. That raised China's total surplus for the first 10 months of the year to US$133.6 billion, already exceeding the US$102 billion surplus for all of 2005, the agency said. China's growing trade gap has fueled demands by Washington and other trading partners for Beijing to raise the value of its currency, the yuan. October was the fifth time this year that the monthly trade surplus has reached a new record high. The surplus set records in May, June, July and August before briefly dropping back to US$15.3 billion in September. (Click for full report)

Sino-Japanese trade hits new record
Aug. 29, 2006 - Japan's trade with China jumped almost 10% in the six months to June, setting a record high for a seventh straight year despite diplomatic frictions. Total trade between the two Asian economies came to 99.2 billion dollars in the first-half period, up 9.9 percent from a year-earlier, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) reported Monday. (Click for full report)

China's technology imports up 45.2%
China's technology imports reached 17.95 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of this year, up 45.2 percent over last year, reported the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Monday. Contracts for copyright licenses constitute the largest part of the total contracted fund, with a year-on-year growth of 57.5 percent. The European Union (EU) is the largest technology exporter to China with a contracted value of 7.54 billion U.S. dollars, up 32 percent. (Click for full report)

August trade surplus hits record
China Daily, Sep. 12, 2006 - China posted a record trade surplus of US$18.8 billion in August, far exceeding the previous peak of US$14.6 billion the previous month, according to the General Administration of Customs. The August surplus, the fourth consecutive monthly record, was driven by a 32.8 per cent jump in exports from a year earlier, which outpaced the 24.6 per cent rise in imports. August exports recorded US$90.8 billion while imports were US$72 billion. China posted a trade surplus of US$94.65 billion in the first eight months, up 57 per cent over the same period last year. Exports rose nearly 26 per cent to about US$600 billion while imports reached US$505 billion, an increase of 21.6 per cent.

China Raises Foreign-Currency Ratio to Ease Pressure (Update2)
Aug. 30, 2006 - (Bloomberg) -- China ordered lenders to increase the amount of foreign-currency deposits they hold at the central bank for the first time since 2004, to curb investments boom and ease pressure on the yuan to strengthen. (Click for full report)

China relaxes QFII rules to attract more overseas investment
BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China announced Friday its revised rules on qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) in a bid to attract more non-speculative overseas investment for its stock markets. Under the new rules, more overseas foreign institutional investors will be eligible as qualified investors in the Chinese A-share markets as the threshold for QFII was slashed significantly. The China Securities Regulatory Commission, which made public the rules in cooperation with the country's foreign exchange watchdog and the central bank, said it will also increase the quota of foreign investment in the Chinese stock markets.

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