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| Address at China-US Trade and Investment Conference |
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| 2006-12-31 13:56 | | From:MOFCOM Article type:Original |
Ma Xiuhong, Vice Minister of MOFCOM
(Cleveland, Dec.5th 2006)
Distinguished American and Chinese entrepreneurs,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very pleased to attend the China-US Trade and Investment Conference here in Cleveland. On behalf of Vice Minister Zhang Qiong, the Ministry of Commerce of China and the legal exchange delegation of the Chinese government, I would like to congratulate on the successful convening of the conference. I would like to thank the US Department of Commerce, the Ohio State Government, the Cleveland Municipal Government and the Cleveland World Trade Center for your preparation for the conference. At the same time, my thanks also go to CCCME, China General Chamber of Commerce in the US, the Economic and Commercial Counselor’s Office of the Chinese Embassy in the US and the Economic and Commercial Counselor’s Office of the Chinese Consulate General in New York for your tremendous efforts, which have made the success of the conference possible.
To promote cooperation between Chinese and American businesses is one of the major objectives of the Chinese delegation’s visit Ohio and Cleveland. The Chinese business delegation, which accompanies the government delegation, comprises of 51 entrepreneurs from 36 companies. The companies are mainly Chinese big names. Some have already invested in the US, while the majority wants to take this opportunity to seek investment opportunities in the US or buy products from the US. In visiting the State of Ohio, the Chinese government and business delegations are deeply impressed by the friendship of the Ohioan people and the unremitting efforts of the State Government and the Cleveland Municipal Government to promote US-China trade and economic cooperation. I believe today’s conference will play an important role in enabling Chinese companies to learn more about the investment climate and product portfolio of Ohio and Cleveland, and boosting trade and mutual investment between China and Ohio, as well as deepening trade and economic cooperation between Ohioan and Chinese companies.
The State of Ohio is a hub of the US inland water transportation and the inter-state highway network, which gives it a unique geographical edge. The state possesses a comparatively strong industrial foundation in areas such as manufacturing, services and agriculture, a favorable business climate, well-established infrastructure, superb office facilities and high-quality human resources. Ohio is one the three industrial bases in the US and the only state seeing a sustained export increase. Currently, Ohio is the second largest exporting state of automobile products and rubber products to China, the third largest of iron and steel products, the fourth of plastic products and the fifth of machinery. In the past decade, the investment climate in Ohio has been improving and the economy growing quickly, which has created huge business opportunities for entrepreneurs, making the state one of the major areas for foreign investment in manufacturing.
China is an important trading partner for Ohio. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the trade and economic relationship with Ohio, and has taken positive steps to strengthen communication and cooperation between Ohio and Chinese businesses. In recent years, Ohio’s export to China has been increasing quickly. In 2005, Ohio’s export to China stood at $934 million with a year-on-year increase of 108%. At present, China is the seventh largest export market for Ohio. Two-way investment has also scored certain achievements. So far, more than 190 Ohio companies have made presence in China, performing quite well. While gaining big returns, their market share is enlarging. Chinese companies also began to invest in Ohio, though the scale is not big yet. But more and more Chinese companies are showing interest in Ohio’s investment environment and seeking for development opportunities. The state government of Ohio and Cleveland municipal government have been actively exploring cooperation with China. After the Trade Office in Hong Kong, another trade office was set up in Shanghai. The moves will play a pivotal role in strengthening communication and exchanges and promoting cooperation between American and Chinese businesses, as well as increasing bilateral trade and investment.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Over the past 27 years after the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the U.S., the trade and economic cooperation between the two countries has developed rapidly thanks to our joint efforts. According to China’s statistics, the bilateral trade reached $211.6 billion in 2005, 86 times that of the year when the diplomatic ties was established. At present, the U.S. is the second largest trading partner of China while China the third largest trading partner of the U.S. The past 5 years after China’s entry into the WTO is a period when U.S. export to China increased the fastest. From 2001 to 2005, the average annual growth rate of trade between the two countries was 27.4% while U.S. export to China grew at 21.5% annually. In 2005, U.S. export to China increased by 118% over 2001, 4.9 times of that to the globe and much higher than the grow rates of U.S. export to other major markets. China has jumped from being 9th largest export market for the US to 4th largest, becoming a major driving force for US export growth. In the first 10 months this year, the US export to China was close to $50 billion, exceeding the total volume of last year, with an increase rate of 24%. If this growth momentum could sustain, China is going to be the 3rd largest export market for the US in 2007.
While the bilateral trade increases dramatically, two-way investment also scores rapid development. The U.S. is one of the largest investment sources for China. By the end of October, 2006, 51,352 U.S.-funded companies had been established in China with a total input of over $52.9 billion. At present, China has become one of the major sources of overseas profit for US companies. In 2005, US companies in China made about $9.7 billion in profit. In the meantime, US companies increased their market shares in China through investment. According to preliminary statistics, in 2005 US companies’ sales revenue in China’s domestic market stood at $77 billion.
In recent years, the Chinese government has adopted proactive measures to facilitate outward investment by competent Chinese companies. By the end of 2005, the accumulative outward investment by Chinese companies reached approximately $67 billion, of which $7 billion was invested in the year 2005 alone. In the meantime, China’s investment in U.S. has grown increasingly rapidly. By the end of October 2006, the direct investment by Chinese companies in US was close to $3 billion. At present, the United States is one of the major destinations for Chinese companies “going global”, exploring overseas business. Several Chinese big names such as Haier, Huawei, COSCO, PetroChina and Lenovo have been performing pretty well in the US, and at the same time made positive contributions to local employment and the US economic development and social progress.
Of course, it should be noted that Chinese companies, being from a developing country, are inexperienced in overseas investment. We hope that Chinese entrepreneurs could study and build on the success stories of overseas investment by multinationals including US companies, enhance cooperation with them and make new strides in exploring international business.
Ladies and gentlemen,
At present, China’s economy sustains stable and relatively fast growth. In 2006, our GDP growth is expected to reach nearly 10%. Import and export will arrive at about US$1.7 trillion, of which import will total at around US$770 billion. China will become the world’s third largest trading power and importer, next to the US and Germany. China’s FDI will exceed US$60 billion, securing for China the top position amongst developing countries. The Chinese government has made expanding domestic demand an important engine for boosting economic growth, and has taken measures to expand China’s goods and services market. Driven by the policy of expanding domestic demand, in 2006, the growth of total retail sales of social consumer goods in China will exceed 13%, 4 percentage points higher than the GDP growth rate
In a bid to address the problems faced by China’s economic development such as employment, urban-rural gap, regional difference, unfair distribution, incomplete legal system, environmental and ecological issues and social morality, in the second half of last year, the Chinese government made an important deployment of establishing a harmonious socialist society and set the goals of achieving democracy, rule of law, fair and justice, creditworthiness and fraternity, vitality, stability and order and harmony between man and nature.
2006-2010 is a critical period for China’s economic development. The ongoing 11th five-year program will bring China’s economy into a new phase featuring stable growth and harmonious development. In the coming 4 years, the average annual GDP growth rate in China is estimated to top 7.5%. It is projected that by 2010 China’s GDP will reach $3.2 trillion with a per capita amount of $2,400. The aggregated sales of consumer goods and capital goods will total at US$4.8 trillion. Import will exceed US$1 trillion. By then, China is expected to be the world’s second largest import market. To build an environmentally friendly and resource-conserving society, through the implementation of the 11th five-year program, we highlight the quality of economic development while increasing the economic aggregate in China. By 2010, the energy consumption per unit GDP will be cut by 20% and the total emissions of major pollutants will be reduced by 10%. At the same time, we will strive for remarkable achievements in improving democracy and legal system, mitigating urban-rural difference, rationalizing income distribution, setting up a social security system and public services system, raising the quality of the whole people and establishing an innovation-driven nation so as to build a more prosperous and harmonious country five years later.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As the largest developing country and the largest developed country in the world, China and the US differ greatly in terms of economic development level and economic structure, but share strong complementarities. Facts have proven that the complementarities of US and Chinese economies and reciprocity of trade and economic cooperation constitute the foundation and impetus for the sustained development of China-US trade and economic relationship. It is in the interest of both countries and peoples to strengthen the relationship. China-US trade and economic relationship is the important basis for China-US relations. An equal and mutually-beneficial trade and economic relationship is of great significance for the comprehensive and healthy development of China-US relations in the new century.
A vibrant and more open China should be an ideal partner for the US. An interdependent, mutually-beneficial and win-win China-US trade and economic relationship will definitely become a strong impetus for China-US relations and bring more benefits to the two peoples.
In closing, I would like to give my thanks to the State of Ohio and the City of Cleveland once again for your warm welcome to and considerate arrangement for the Chinese delegation. I thank also American and Chinese entrepreneurs for your active participation. I wish the conference a complete success.
Thank you!
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