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After almost two years of rising trade frictions, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has established its first international trade representative office, which is responsible for negotiations and coordination of domestic positions.
Appointed by the State Council, Gao Hucheng will be international trade representative for the office, Zhong Shan and Chong Quan will be deputy representatives, said MOFCOM Monday in a statement. Gao and Zhong are both deputy ministers of commerce.
Mei Xinyu, a researcher with the MOFCOM-run Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC), told the Global Times that MOFCOM has had international trade representatives before 2005. Back then representatives functioned as coordinators and were not able to coordinate opinions of different agencies.
"The overwhelming varieties of goods and services involved in international trade make it hard for international representatives to function. Take market access to financing services for example. Representatives should coordinate between the People's Bank of China, China Banking Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission and China Insurance Regulatory Commission," said Mei. A good way to delegate functions between representatives and other departments was not found, said Mei.
Mei added that if the new office can smooth out these problems, it would have accomplished its goal.
Li Jian, another researcher with the CAITEC, said that the setup of the office might be related to increasing trade frictions China is facing after the financial crisis has led to rising protectionism across the world.
As the competition between exports from China and other countries grows fiercer, China has become hard-hit by trade protectionism, Zhong wrote in an article published Monday at Qiu Shi magazine.
"In 2009, China was involved in 116 trade disputes, affecting $12.7 billion worth of goods and services. China's exports over the same period accounted for 9.6 percent of the total exports worldwide. But anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases launched against China accounted for 40 percent and 75 percent of the world total respectively," Zhong said.
Zhong said China needs to accelerate restructuring. The restructuring needs stable currency policies, tax rebates and an expansion of yuan trade settlement and the currency's role in global markets, Zhong said. |
