Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi said Tuesday that the country should
step up efforts to develop its service trade in a bid to alter the
growth pattern of foreign trade and increase employment and
domestic consumption.
"The Chinese government attaches great importance to developing
the service trade," said Wu, adding that "since its entry into WTO,
China has opened its service industry wider and wider, with its
service trade expanding rapidly."
Last year, China's service trade reached 191.75 billion U.S.
dollars, compared with 4.6 billion U.S. dollars in 1982.
Meanwhile, its world ranking rose from the 28th place to the
eighth in service exports and from the 40th to seventh in
imports.
But compared with developed countries, the overall development
level of China's service industry and trade remains low, said
Wu.
She made the remarks in a congratulatory letter to a newly
established national association of service trade.
China will put the development of its service trade high on the
agenda, said Vice-Minister of Commerce Yi Xiaozhun.
The country will mainly boost trade in the cultural, tourism,
shipping and insurance sectors and strengthen the international
competitiveness of service firms, Yi said.
The government will map out new policies to give strong support
to firms that develop service trade and encourage these firms to
cooperate and learn from their foreign counterparts.
To promote service trade, China will also strengthen its
exchanges and cooperation with international organizations, such as
the WTO, the UN Conference on Trade and development and the
European Union.
(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2007)
