CRI听力:China Aims to Increase Foreign Trade by 7.5 Pct

Speaking at the annual session of the National People's Congress, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng explains why 7.5 percent is a realistic target.

"The international economy is maintaining a positive trend of reviving this year, especially among developed countries, pumping up needs gradually. This is helpful for China's export sector. Looking at domestic competitive factors, we think that is favorable too. Chinese enterprises continue to adjust and change as they did during the international financial crisis, and just as the financial system and its mechanisms have adapted as well.

China's total exports and imports surpassed 4 trillion U.S. dollars for the first time last year, up 7.6 percent year on year, which is slightly lower than the government's full-year target of 8 percent.

At the same time, China has surpassed the US as the largest goods trading nation in the world, as well as being the largest trading partner to 120 countries.

Gao Hucheng says China still has a lot to do to become a trade power.

"It is an objective fact that China is a large but still not a powerful trading nation. What is encouraging is that in the face of such pressure and change, China's enterprises are now increasing their competitiveness, adjusting their directions in development, and making greater efforts in terms of structural adjustment and value-added products and services. It makes us confident about the next stage of development."

With increasing foreign trade, China faces more trade friction.

Last year, China and the EU properly settled about 20 billion US dollars worth of solar panel disputes.

Gao Hucheng says China should look at trade frictions in a more rational way.

"In the future, we will strengthen communications and negotiations between China and the EU and promote industrial cooperation to achieve common development. We are committed to handling current trade frictions and future ones in this spirit."

Meanwhile, Gao Hucheng notes that Chinese authorities are studying the idea of relaxing bans on foreign capital in some 10 service and manufacturing industries, including finance, education, accounting, auditing, logistics and electronic commerce.

He says China will continue to improve the investment environment, make efforts to build a fairer and more open legal environment, a more efficient political environment and a fair competitive environment, to better protect the interests and intellectual properties of foreign companies.

For CRI, this is Li Jing.