(Nov 4): China unveiled a new programme to boost imports from other countries, as Beijing seeks to mitigate trading partners’ concerns over the nation’s goods flooding their market and crowding out local industries.
Premier Li Qiang launched on Tuesday a series of events called the Big Market for All: Export to China, just one day ahead of the opening of the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. The programme will be carried out annually in an effort to “actively respond to trade partners’ demands and concerns”, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said at a ceremony kicking off the events.
“It is a pragmatic initiative by China to advance institutional opening up and push for the balanced development of imports and exports,” Wang said on Tuesday evening in Shanghai.
China’s exports to other countries have soared this year as shipments to the US have slumped due to President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. The manufacturing powerhouse is on pace to log a record US$1.2 trillion in trade surplus this year, underscoring the deepening imbalance that’s putting pressure on nations to act to contain the potential damage to their domestic industries.
Wang said China will focus its import promotions on five or six countries. These promotions will include special exhibitions and “targeted purchases” to help the selected nations sell their products in the Asian country. The government will support trade partners in setting up national online shops on leading Chinese e-commerce platforms, he said.
Starting next year, China will publish an annual report to review the effects of the import promotion programme and assess partner nations’ ability to sell into China, he added.
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The goal is to “make China the best export destination and the engine of development for more countries”, Wang said.
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