WEN JIABAO AND EXPORTS

WEN URGES STABILIZING EXPORT GROWTH

Xinhua

China Daily, August 26, 2012

GUANGZHOU - Premier Wen Jiabao said China should carry out targeted efforts to steady export growth so the country can hopefully meet this year's economic and social development goals.

During an inspection tour on Friday and Saturday to the southern province of Guangdong, the country's major exporter of goods, Wen said China should place high attention to the difficulties and uncertainties facing exports, which had taken a hit from the global economic headwinds.

"The third quarter of the year is a critical period for China to realize the year's export growth target and we should take targeted steps to stabilize growth," Wen said.

China aims to expand its foreign trade by 10 percent this year.

Wen's latest remarks came as export growth slowed sharply in July to a six-month low following dwindling demand from Europe and Japan.

Exports rose a mere 1 percent year-on-year to 176.9 billion U.S. dollars in July, plummeting from the 11.3-percent growth seen in June, official data showed.

During the trip, Wen visited several companies in cities of Guangzhou, Foshan and Dongguan, where he asked them to push forward structural adjustments, increase input in fostering innovation and make diversified strategies to adapt to the export markets.

Wen said that judging from the new export indexes, China's export outlook will continue to be clouded by difficulties and uncertainties.

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CHINA AND INDIA: BILATERAL TRADE

INDIA, CHINA BILATERAL TRADE SET TO HIT $100 BILLION BY 2015

Shobhan Saxena

The Times of India, June 22, 2012

RIO DE JANEIRO: In their 13th meeting in eight years, Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao on Wednesday decided to take the India-China relationship to the next level by giving a boost to trade and priority to resolving the border dispute between the two countries. Going into a huddle on the first day of the Rio+20 conference here, the Indian Prime Minister, who calls Wen his 'close friend', and his Chinese counterpart agreed to take steps to ensure that the bilateral trade between the two emerging economies reaches $100 billion (about Rs 5,60,000 cr) by 2015. The two-way trade between the two countries reached $74 billion in 2011, with China becoming one of the largest trade partners of India and vice versa.

With the delegates and officials of almost all 190 countries present here keeping an eye on the India-China bilateral, the prime ministers of two emerging economies of Asia emerged from their 40-minute meeting after agreeing to boost trade and also give top priority to defence and security dialogue between the two countries.

Speaking to media after the crucial meeting, India foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai said during the meeting, the Indian prime minister invited Chinese investment in infrastructure in India. "The two leaders also decided to start the export of Indian rice to China soon," the foreign secretary said, adding that the issue of trans-border rivers flowing in India and China also figured in the talks which took place on the sidelines of the UN summit on sustainable development.

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INTRA-ASIAN TRADE

FIDELITY: ASIA FOCUSING ON INTRA-REGION TRADE

Financial Standard, May 15, 2012

Despite growing fears about a decline in manufacturing, Asia is underpinned by resilient domestic demand and strong growth in intra-region trade, according to Fidelity.

Asian economies are less dependent on OECD countries than in the past, said David Urquhart, portfolio manager of the fidelity Asia fund.

"Today, Asia contributes more to world GDP growth than the US and the EU does combined," he said.

While there has been concern that consumption rates in Asian economies have not caught up enough to meet a decline in manufacturing, Urquhart said that the region has entered into a sweet spot for strong growth and consumption.

"On the economic side, when countries are poor, their savings rates are high. however once GDP per capita rises into the range between us$3,000 to us$10,000, savings rates decline and consumption becomes a larger portion of GDP," said Urquhart.

"In the past decade, for example, we saw china's GDP grow from US$1,000 to US$4,000, or expand four times over.

"Over the same period, we saw car sales in china grow from one million a year to 17 million vehicles a year, or by 17 times."

An ailing us economy and the dismal state of the EU have forced Asian markets to focus more on intra-region trade.

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