Asian crisis weighing on China trade

Asian crisis weighing on China trade

BEIJING (AP): The Asian financial crisis will slash China's
export growth rate this year from a projected 10 percent target
to as little as 4 percent, an official newspaper reported Sunday.

The "most optimistic" estimate for export growth would be 6
percent, but 4 percent to 5 percent would be "quite satisfying"
given the slowdown of world trade, the Business Weekly quoted Qin
Xuanren, deputy secretary general of the International Trade
Association of China as saying.

The decline in exports has put China's ability to meet its
overall economic growth rate target of 8 percent in question.
Exports last year surged 20.9 percent to US$182.7 billion from
the previous year and contributed to 20.6 percent of 1997's 8.8
percent growth.

Qin predicted China's exports would increase in the fourth
quarter to about $54 billion in volume. For the first nine
months, China's exports rose 3.9 percent on the year to $134.13
billion.

Chinese government economists continue to predict the 8
percent overall growth target will be met, despite slumping
exports.

The Business Weekly said government leaders were sticking to
the 8 percent prediction "because they believed confidence was
vital in time of difficulties to maintain the momentum of foreign
capital influx and avoid public unease."

The government has increased spending on infrastructure
construction as a means of generating demand. High growth is
necessary for China in order to create jobs for millions of
workers laid off as part of the reform of debt-ridden state
companies.