国内英语新闻：Barometer trade fair slump feared to indicate Sino-U.S. trade slowdown

SHANGHAI, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A traditional commodity fair in east China, conventionally regarded as a barometer of the nation's foreign trade, reported less demands from American businessmen than expected, indicating a possible slowdown of Sino-U.S. trade.

    The 18th East China Commodity Fair, an event held at the beginning of every year, reported around 1,600 American businessmen, far less than expected.

    "The number of the American businessmen to the fair was only two thirds of those from the European Union, showing the deficient domestic demands of the United States," said Wang Qingjiang, an official with the fair.

    "The subprime crisis in the United States has shown its influence on China's exports," he added.

    The 5-day fair registered total business deals worth 583 million U.S. dollars between Chinese companies and the U.S. businessmen, a 1.5 percent dip from last year.

    Deals worth more than 3.67 billion U.S. dollars were signed at the fair, a 3.52 percent growth from 2007.

    Deals between Chinese companies and the European Union businessmen added up to 879 million U.S. dollars, a 9.5 percent growth compared with the last fair.

    Chinese companies and the Japanese businessmen made deals worth906 million U.S. dollars, almost the same amount compared with last year.

    The fair attracted more than 19,000 businessmen from 145 countries and regions around the world, with more than 60 percent from Asia.

    According to experts, the fair could indicate the trend in China's foreign trade in 2008.