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deticit, it appears that the efforts wage by the Chinese
authorities to improve its visible trade account have not
yet borne fruit. Por the first three quarters taken
together, the value of imports, at US$26.9 billion, far
exceeded the value of exports, at US$18.9 billion,
resulting in a visible trade deficit of nearly
US$10 billion.
7.
The trade figures released by the Ministry of
Foreign Economic Relations and Trade (MOFERT) indicate a
much smaller visible trade deficit. For the first three
quarters taken together, the value of exports was put at US$18.13 billion while that of imports at US$22.52
billion, resulting in a visible trade deficit of US$4.39
billion. However, when compared with the visible trade
deficit of US$2.16 billion in the first half, China's
visible trade balance also showed no improvement in the
third quarter on the basis of the MOFERT figures. However, the customs figures are close to those produced elsewhere and should be more reliable for the purpose of macroeconomic analysis.
8.
It is not easy to explain the lack of
improvement in China's visible trade account despite the
efforts made by the Chinese Government in recent months.
China's export performance has been adversely affected by
the threat of rising protectionism and the sluggish demand for primary commodities in the world market, both of which
are beyond China's control. Internally, in order to
prevent cut-throat competition among export agents, China
has re-centralized export control through unified planning and pricing. With effect from 20 September 1985, the
coverage of the export licensing system has been extended
and 21 products which were previously not subject to
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