Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
No need for alarm that China overtakes all as top exporter
By Mei Xinyu |
January 18, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA has overtaken Germany as the world's top exporter after December exports jumped 17.7 percent for the first increase in 14 months.
This, together with Japan's recent official forecast that China's gross domestic product in 2009 could surpass Japan's, has stirred great anxiety among some countries over the dynamism of China's economic development.
However, there's no need to make a fuss about China's economic development.
Given the fact that China is the world's only country with a continuous civilization of 5,000 years and has remained the world's most populated country for at least 2,000 years, there is nothing strange for China's GDP and trade volume to rank high in the world.
It had been only a matter of time for China to become the top exporter ever since China established a complete industrial system and entered the global market on equal terms with its overseas rivals. And the global financial crisis simply accelerated China's pace to overtake other countries.
China's surpassing Germany in exports is mainly attributable to the following factors: deepening and expanding industrialization; the huge population and the big population dividend (which means larger scales of production and sales and thus more competitiveness in the world market); and the highly diversified industries (many of which are very competitive in the world market).
During the global financial crisis, demand for investment products and luxury goods declined the most. The majority of German exports are investment products. The crisis has also intensified price competition, which prompts the transference of advanced manufacturing industry from developed countries to developing countries.
In the foreseeable future, China, with its comparatively superior infrastructure and public service, will be one of the most ideal countries for developing advanced manufacturing industry.
Admittedly, China's huge trade surplus and foreign exchange reserve have already drawn strong criticism domestically.
Indeed, to some extent, China has been reduced to the provider of cheap consumption goods and low-interest financing for developed countries such as the US and European countries.
However, to a developing country, the biggest risks in an open economic system are foreign exchange shortage and currency mismatches (referring to a situation in which an economic entity's net assets or net income are sensitive to the changes of foreign exchange rates).
In other words, although the cost China has been paying for its huge trade surplus and foreign exchange reserve is high, China would have been exposed to higher risks and would have paid larger costs were the big trade surplus and foreign exchange reserve nonexistent.
Moreover, in the global market system, a country's import capacity is dependent on its export capacity. In this sense, the increase in China's export means more than edging its competitors out of the market - it also means new markets and new opportunities.
People ranging from mine owners and workers in Australia to bean farmers in Brazil have all seen market opportunities in China.
(The author is a senior researcher under the Ministry of Commerce. The views are his own. He can be reached at meixinyu@126.com.)
This, together with Japan's recent official forecast that China's gross domestic product in 2009 could surpass Japan's, has stirred great anxiety among some countries over the dynamism of China's economic development.
However, there's no need to make a fuss about China's economic development.
Given the fact that China is the world's only country with a continuous civilization of 5,000 years and has remained the world's most populated country for at least 2,000 years, there is nothing strange for China's GDP and trade volume to rank high in the world.
It had been only a matter of time for China to become the top exporter ever since China established a complete industrial system and entered the global market on equal terms with its overseas rivals. And the global financial crisis simply accelerated China's pace to overtake other countries.
China's surpassing Germany in exports is mainly attributable to the following factors: deepening and expanding industrialization; the huge population and the big population dividend (which means larger scales of production and sales and thus more competitiveness in the world market); and the highly diversified industries (many of which are very competitive in the world market).
During the global financial crisis, demand for investment products and luxury goods declined the most. The majority of German exports are investment products. The crisis has also intensified price competition, which prompts the transference of advanced manufacturing industry from developed countries to developing countries.
In the foreseeable future, China, with its comparatively superior infrastructure and public service, will be one of the most ideal countries for developing advanced manufacturing industry.
Admittedly, China's huge trade surplus and foreign exchange reserve have already drawn strong criticism domestically.
Indeed, to some extent, China has been reduced to the provider of cheap consumption goods and low-interest financing for developed countries such as the US and European countries.
However, to a developing country, the biggest risks in an open economic system are foreign exchange shortage and currency mismatches (referring to a situation in which an economic entity's net assets or net income are sensitive to the changes of foreign exchange rates).
In other words, although the cost China has been paying for its huge trade surplus and foreign exchange reserve is high, China would have been exposed to higher risks and would have paid larger costs were the big trade surplus and foreign exchange reserve nonexistent.
Moreover, in the global market system, a country's import capacity is dependent on its export capacity. In this sense, the increase in China's export means more than edging its competitors out of the market - it also means new markets and new opportunities.
People ranging from mine owners and workers in Australia to bean farmers in Brazil have all seen market opportunities in China.
(The author is a senior researcher under the Ministry of Commerce. The views are his own. He can be reached at meixinyu@126.com.)
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
