One less obstacle for western businesses engaging with China. Domestic companies will soon be allowed to freely import a wide range of materials and products that previously required import licences.
Some 338 product categories are affected, ranging from steel
products and plastic materials to machinery and electronics products.
From April 1, Chinese businesses no longer need to get official
approval for these imports although the transactions still have to be
recorded at China's trade ministry.
No prizes for guessing that the reason for introducing this
liberalisation is China's huge trade surplus and the howls of protest
it draws from China's principal trading partners, such as the EU and US.
To prevent the trade surplus from widening further, the government
has taken measures to encourage imports and restructure exports. But so
far with no apparent success. Surging exports caused China's trade
surplus to reach a record $177bn last year and there has been little
sign of a slowdown in the the first two months of this year.
Last year, the US reported a record $232bn trade deficit with China.
China's gap with the US bigger than its global surplus because it runs
deficits with other countries. More on the trade surplus in this AP story.
Related stories:
