| China's 2nd-half trade gap will narrow, Wei says |
SHANGHAI, July 3 -- CHINA'S trade surplus is likely to narrow in the second-half of 2007, as exporters finished their shipments ahead of a June 30 deadline for receiving rebates, Vice Commerce Minister Wei Jianguo said.
The world's fourth-largest economy may have exported US$100 billion more than it bought from overseas in the first six months of this year, Xinhua news agency said last night, citing the National Bureau of Statistics' chief economist. Wei today declined to confirm the US$100 billion first-half surplus.
"We're confident we can narrow the trade surplus," Wei said after a Beijing press conference. "It's the government's primary and long-term task to reduce the excessive surplus."
Commerce Minister Bo Xilai last month slashed export rebates on 2,831 products to curb China's overseas sales, ease friction with trading partners and spur industries to use less energy. The world's fastest-growing major economy may boost 2008 trade gap by 45 percent to a record US$257 billion, according to an April estimate by the Asian Development Bank, prompting the US Congress, labor unions and some manufacturers to accuse China of using its cheap currency to spur exports.
Wei reiterated that the Chinese government will ``strive hard'' to buy more high-technology products from abroad, boost domestic consumption of imported products and export less.
China's exports of toys, foodstuff and some consumer goods have also faced increasing scrutiny by US and European buyers amid the discovery of leaded paint, tainted food and chemicals in these products.
Kellogg Co, the largest US cereal maker, yesterday said it increased its inspection of vitamins, honey and other ingredients from China. The company's inspections have found no tainted ingredients, Kellogg's spokeswoman Kris Charles said.
Chinese authorities confiscated 200 million yuan (US$26 million) of fake or poor-quality food since December, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on June 28 on its Website. More than 330,000 agents across the country uncovered 23,000 cases of illegal manufacturing, confiscating fake foods including liquor, flour, rice, cooking oil, dairy products and soy sauce, the agency said.
The Chinese government will crack down on non-food substances added to products, the inspection agency said. In the first five months of 2007, the inspection agency said it issued 12,365 "buyer beware" warnings to consumers.
Wei today pledged that the commerce ministry, which also regulates local businesses and production, will "do a better job" at enforcing quality inspection.
"We attach a lot of importance to this issue, especially where human lives and safety are concerned," Wei said without elaborating.
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