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Export deals hit record high at fair
( 10/31/2002)
Despite a world wide economic recession, Chinese companies signed
a record US$18.47 billion worth of export deals at the 92nd Session
of the Chinese Export Commodities Fair that ended in this Guangdong
provincial capital yesterday.
The figure represents an increase of 9.6 per cent when compared
with the previous event, held this past spring.
Hu Chusheng, deputy director and secretary general of the fair,
China's biggest trade event, said the biannual gathering contributed
to the country's foreign trade industry and laid a solid foundation
for China to realize its annual export target.
"But the prices for most export products witnessed a slight
decline at this fair," Hu said.
Addressing a press conference yesterday, Hu said the European Union
(EU), the United States and the Middle East were the top three trade
partners at the fair, which opened on October 15.
Orders from the EU, the United States and the Middle East accounted
for 29.7 per cent, 17.7 per cent and 10.4 per cent of the fair's
total, respectively.
Exports to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN)were also healthy, accounting for 6.8 per cent of the fair's
total. ASEAN was the fourth largest buyer at the fair.
The coastal provinces and municipalities of Guangdong, Zhejiang,
Shandong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian and Liaoning clinched export
contracts valued at US$11.72 billion, accounting for 63.4 per cent
of the total.
But exports from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
and North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region witnessed the
highest growth, racking up 166.2 per cent and 162.2 per cent of
the value of contracts booked at the spring event respectively,
showing the great export potential of China's western regions.
Light industrial products, machinery and electronics were the biggest
foreign-exchange earners at the fair.
Export contracts for light industrial products, machinery and electronics
came to a total of US$12.37 billion, 70 per cent of the fair's total.
Other best selling products included native produce, medicines
and mental health products.
In addition to the myriad of business opportunities, China's stability
and good economic performance were the major reasons for the successful
fair and the highest number of foreign visitors in the fair's history,
Hu said.
By Tuesday, a record 135,482 foreign business representatives had
visited the fair, up 12.4 per cent from the previous event.
The foreign business people came from 191 nations and regions worldwide.
Business people from the EU, Africa and the Middle East increased
by 20 per cent, 19.4 per cent and 18.8 per cent respectively from
the last event, while the number of visitors from Oceania fell.
(From chinadaily.com.cn)
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