At the ongoing national conference on foreign trade and economic cooperation in Beijing, Minister Shi Guangsheng pointed out that this year our work faces a harsh situation, but we still possess quite a number of favorable conditions. Internationally speaking, the general environment and China's relations with its major trade partners remain fine, and the world economy and trade sustains growth. Since China accounts for a low share of world trade, there is still potential for growth. Internally, first, the sustained high speed healthy growth of our national economy provides a forceful material guarantee and institutional condition for the development of foreign trade and economy; second, the pattern of diversified operators of foreign trade and economy has taken initial shape, which represents an unprecedented incentive to all types of foreign trade and economic enterprises; third, the State has introduced and is working on more policies and measures to expand exports and attract foreign investment, such as the significant move of further raising tax rebate rates for exports in accordance with international practice; fourth, our country enjoys political and monetary stability, and our market has a huge potential, and it is still a fairly attractive investment site.
The major tasks of China's foreign trade and economic cooperation this year are: to strive to expand exports and try to achieve growth of certain extent, and to appropriately increase imports; to utilize more foreign investments in a better way, and maintain the sizeable scale of foreign investment, raising the quality and level of foreign capital utilization; work hard to develop overseas project contracting and labor cooperation; to actively promote the reform of foreign aid; to do a good job in bilateral and multilateral trade and economic relations so as to create international environment for the development of foreign trade and economic relations; to fully fulfill the various tasks of foreign trade and economic relations in order to contribute to the sustained high-speed healthy development of the national economy.
Comprehensively implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Meeting and properly handle the relationship between expanding domestic demand and developing foreign trade and economic cooperation.
This year, the Central Government has determined that China will pursue its active fiscal policies to enhance domestic demand so that stable economic growth could be maintained. This is a very correct decision, the implementation of which will contribute to the lessening of negative impact imposed on China's economy by the Asian financial crisis, and to the adjustment of China's economic structure and its long-term development. However, stressing the expansion of domestic demand doesn't mean that foreign economic and trade cooperation is insignificant. We will consistently adhere to the fundamental state policy of opening-up, which is proved to be a piece of successful experience of China's rapid economic development since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Economic development should rely on both domestic and foreign markets. We should give full consideration of the difficulties China might meet in this year's export, yet that could never be paraphrased as neglecting or even abandoning foreign market. Instead, we shall leave no stone unturned in expanding export.
Foreign economic and trade cooperation enjoys a vital position in China's national economy, next only to active fiscal policy. Foreign economic and trade development will be conducive to the promotion of speedy national economic growth. Export occupies considerable proportion of China's GDP and foreign investment absorption also makes a certain ratio of the social fixed assets investment. Therefore, the maintenance of stable growth in export and foreign investment utilization will surly help realize the expected growth target of the national economy.
Foreign economic and trade development will contribute to the restructuring and upgrading of China's industry. Through utilizing foreign investment, enlarging export and encouraging overseas investment of Chinese enterprises with comparative advantages, China will be in a better position to optimize its industrial structure and raise the products' competitiveness in international market.
Foreign economic and trade development is also beneficial to balance international payment and to stabilize the exchange rate of Chinese currency, which can bring about a favorable external environment for the expansion of domestic demand.
Foreign economic and trade development will be incremental to sustain and increase employment, and to maintain basic stability of domestic demand as well as social stability.