Thaindian News

Beijing, Jan 10 (IANS) China may overtake Germany to become the world’s largest exporter though its exports in 2009 had fallen 13.9 percent from a year earlier, according to figures released Sunday by the General Administration of Customs (GAC).
But Chinese experts and officials said the country was far from being a real trade power if measured by exports structure, technological innovation and industry competitiveness.

GAC figures showed China’s monthly exports in December 2009 were worth $130.7 billion, up 17.7 percent from a year earlier. It was the first rise since November 2008, when the country’s exports contracted 2.2 percent year on year after sluggish overseas demand crippled China’s export engine.

In total, GAC figures showed that China’s exports in 2009 stood at $1.2 trillion, down 16 percent from 2008.

Germany, which had been since 2002 holding the title as the world’s largest exporter, didn’t unveil its export value in 2009 yet.

“The prospect that China will overtake Germany to become top global exporter only means that China has indeed become a large trading country in terms of exporting scale,” said Zhao Jinping, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council.

“But in terms of the structure of exports, technological innovation and industry competitiveness, China is far from being eligible for the title of ‘trade power’,” he told Xinhua news agency.

Zhao said a full recovery of China’s trade might take another several years. China should promote exports of high value-added products through branding and technological innovation, he added.

Zhong Shan, vice minister of commerce, agreed that China was not a strong trade power. “China should adjust the product structure and transform its growth pattern,” he said.

In December 2009, China’s imports hit record monthly high to reach $112.3 billion, up 55.9 percent from the same period of 2008, according to the GAC.

In December 2009, China’s foreign trade amounted to $243 billion, which represented a year-on-year increase of 32.7 percent and a month-to-month rise of 16.7 percent.

In total, China’s foreign trade in 2009 dropped 13.9 percent from a year earlier to $2.21 trillion and its trade surplus last year slid 34.2 percent year on year to $196.1 billion.