Others News
- Nation wants to keep trade surplus down
Date: 6-Mar-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
CHINA wants to keep its trade surplus in check this year, Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said yesterday, but added that this does not signal major changes to the country's trade policies.
The surplus, which rose 74 percent last year to a record US$177.47 billion, is drawing the ire of lawmakers in the United States, who see it as proof that China is unfairly holding down the yuan to give its exporters an advantage in global markets.
'China does not want to see too large a trade surplus this year,'Bo told reporters ahead of the opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's parliament.
'Under the conditions of overall stability, we're making adjustments in some areas to realize balanced development of trade,'he said. 'As mature trading nations, it is normal to discuss some trade problems in the context of the World Trade Organization - in a multilateral framework,'he said.
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab has warned that the United States might file a case at the WTO unless China takes more action to reduce piracy and counterfeiting of U.S. goods.
Washington agreed last year to delay filing a case after China indicated its willingness to do more to address its concerns, but Schwab has cautioned its patience would not last indefinitely.
On Sunday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said he discussed the U.S.-China trade relationship during his two days of talks with his Chinese counterparts, adding that last year China was the United States' fastest growing export market.
'Export opportunities for the United States to China now appear to be improving and obviously that is a trend which we wish to encourage,'he told a news conference.
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