Determination to fight protectionism

NPC deputy Zhang Yansheng said the government's proposal of expanding imports worth attention.

"In the short term, imports will post a much bigger slowdown than exports as international commodities prices and domestic economic growth slumped," said Zhang, also head of the International Economic Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission, China's chief economic planning body.

The fierce competition in the international market always lead to growing international trade protectionism, but the latest buying trip led by Commerce Minister Chen Deming to the European countries showed China's determination in fighting trade protectionism, Zhang said.

He projected that the imports would increase in the second quarter this year as the country's stimulus package begin to take effect, but the exports would see further drop.

"In the long term, the government need to cultivate new growth sectors in the external market and move faster to transform growth pattern of foreign trade to cope with the crisis," Zhang said.

Innovation, technology key to export

"While stressing the importance of boosting domestic demand, we must stabilize external demand," said Cai Jiming, member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body.

"We should spur exports by technological innovation and developing new industries," said Cai, also director of the Center for Political Economy at Tsinghua University.

He cited the battery industry as an example. "China's battery production technology is leading in international market."

"The demand for clean energy is huge in foreign countries out of concern of environmental protection. China could make full use of the advantages to develop its battery industry," he said.

"The demand for clean energy is huge in foreign countries out of concern of environmental protection. China could make full use of the advantages to develop its battery industry," he said.

Another deputy Yin Guangjun said "We should draw lessons from the financial crisis over the over-reliance on foreign market, and build a real economy based on domestic demand."

China's economy has been driven largely by foreign trade, and has been endeavoring to rebalance growth away from a heavy reliance on exports and investment towards consumption.

"We could take the crisis as an opportunity to restructure the export sector to get prepared for future development," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2009)