“中国外贸发展是不是已经面临‘拐点’？既有的低成本竞争优势还能维持多久？”
Chenzhou (CNS) -- China's foreign trade is suffering from deteriorating external demand and rising internal costs, Assistant Commerce Minister Li Rongcan said at a work conference in Chenzhou, Hunan Province, on Tuesday.
Export volume totaled 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars in the first three quarters of this year, increasing 22.7 percent compared to the same period last year, but marked by a growth rate slowdown of 15.3 percentage points, he said.
Li pointed out two reasons behind the slowing export growth: externally, overseas demand decreased due to tepid internal economic growth and the sluggish economy in China's major trading partners like Japan and the European Union; internally, the exporting sector bears the brunt of rising environmental costs and costs of labor, raw materials and resources.
His opinion was echoed by other experts at the meeting. They pointed out that as the traditional advantages of demographic dividend fade away, the major driver of China's high-speed development no longer exists.
To determine the potential and international market niche of China's exporting industry, embracing pressure as a motivator and seeking a new competitive edge are priorities for the sector as a whole. Only by fulfilling these tasks can the industry seize the opportunity to change its development mode and build China into a trading power, Li added.
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