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Global slowdown hits trade at China export fair
2008-11-07
BEIJING - Export contracts sealed at a major trade fair in China declined by almost 16 percent as overseas buyers cut budgets amid the ongoing global economic downturn, state media reported Friday. The value of orders signed at the 104th China Import and Export Fair in the southern city of Guangzhou, which closed on Thursday, totalled 31.55 billion dollars, down 15.8 percent from last year, the China Daily said. The number of foreign buyers went down by eight percent from a year ago to about 175,000, even though the exhibition period was extended to 15 days from 12 days, the report said. "These are hard earned achievements in a time when... the international market shrank and the US and European buyers reduced procurement activities," said fair spokesman Mu Xinhai in a statement on the organiser's website. Evidence is mounting that the deepening global economic downturn is beginning to impact China's exports, a key growth driver for the world's fourth largest economy. The trade surplus for the first nine months of the year reached 180.9 billion dollars, down 2.6 percent year-on-year, according to customs data. The Chinese economy expanded by nine percent in the third quarter, the lowest growth figure since the second quarter of 2003. The import and export fair, which takes place twice a year, is viewed as a key indicator of Chinese trade activity. At the last fair in April, the value of export contracts reached 38.23 billion dollars, the highest in the event's history, according to figures on the organiser's website.
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