MNI POLICY: China Says US Imports Won't Impact Other Nations

By Wanxia Lin

     BEIJING (MNI) - China's commitment to boosting U.S. imports under the Phase

One agreement will fall under market and WTO rules with no impact on other

exporter nations, Li Xingqian, the head of the Department of Foreign Trade at

the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said Tuesday.

     "China has a population of 1.4 billion and a huge and a continuously

growing middle-income group, so there is great potential market demand," said

Li, calling for the U.S. to create favourable conditions for expanding imports. 

     Here are other key points from the briefing:

     - China will promote the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic

Partnership (RCEP) and free trade negotiations in different regions, said Li. 

     - China will boost consumption levels by both urban and rural populations,

develop the service industry and promote online purchases to strengthen the

domestic market, said Chu Shijia, MOFCOM's head of Comprehensive Department. 

     - Consumption accounted for 57.8% of GDP growth, or 3.5 percentage points,

in 2019, with a faster rise in sales of high-end products including cosmetics

and communication devices, said Qian Keming, deputy minister of Commerce.

     - FDI into China grew 5.8% last year to a record CNY941.5 billion, allowing

China to remain the second-highest FDI destination globally, said Qian.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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