New centres aim to help foreign trade By Jiang Wei (China Daily) Updated: 2006-06-07 08:47
China's commerce ministry, the trade watchdog, yesterday set up 19 service
centres in a bid to help Chinese companies better acquaint themselves with
possible technical barriers in foreign trade.
These centres, established
under relevant chambers of commerce and research agencies, will cover the export
of a large number of commodities ranging from farm products, air conditioners
and toys to silk.
"We expect that the newly established centres will
offer powerful support for companies to overcome the technical barriers of
foreign countries," said Vice-Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo.
Technical
trade barriers have become a crucial issue affecting the business of Chinese
exporters in various fields. Some developed nations, making full use of their
technological advantage, have adopted a series of special standards and
regulations within the areas of safety and environmental protection.
Statistics from the ministry indicate that, in recent years, two-thirds
of Chinese exporters have reported suffering from technical barriers when
exporting goods. Two-fifths of exported goods faced barriers, causing economic
losses of nearly US$20 billion for the country every year.
The centres
will be responsible for collecting information on access standards to the target
markets of Chinese companies such as technical standards, food safety standards,
labour standards and intellectual property rights protection
regulations.
They will then update guidebooks on the technical standards
of major export destinations, Wei said.
The ministry released in 2005 the
first batch of guidebooks detailing technical standards on export goods. The
goods include honey, eel, leather goods, textile products, clothes, aluminium
materials, air conditioners and electrical tools.
The ministry will
release, by the end of 2006, 100 guidebooks on key export goods, which will
involve an export volume of more than US$200 billion.
Wei expected that
the booklets would help to minimize the negative effects of foreign
technological barriers on China's exports.
The centres will give
exporters information about important changes in access to major markets and
provide them with advice and solutions.
Based on studies of foreign
technological standards, the centres should also participate in drawing up
domestic standards and globally adopted technological standards.
Wei said
although China doubled its exports to US$762 billion in 2005, over the 2000
figure, the country is challenged by its lack of resources, shortage of core
competitiveness and increasing trade frictions.
China's traditional
competitive advantage in labour resources is also expected to be weakened in
coming years as average wages continue to increase. (For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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