SYDNEY, Sept 6 (AFP): Chinese President Hu Jintao vowed more action to boost imports today, telling a business audience in Sydney that Beijing did not want to run a large trade surplus.
His comments came a day after US President George W Bush urged China to transform itself into a "consuming society" that would buy more American goods, in turn shrinking the yawning trade gap.
"China does not seek a large trade surplus," Hu said in Sydney ahead of a weekend summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
"(China) will continue to transform the pattern of trade growth, increase imports, and strengthen protection of intellectual property rights to ensure coordinated and balanced growth of import and export and contribute to the sustainable growth of global trade."
Hu is not the first Chinese government member to pledge more meaures to reduce the trade surplus, and the Asian giant has already introduced some policies, including reductions in tax incentives for exporters.
Even so, the trade surplus keeps growing and reached a staggering 136.8 billion dollars in the first seven months of the year.
The US gap with China expanded to a record 21.16 billion dollars in June from 20.02 billion in May, according to US official data.
The trade surplus has caused jitters especially in the United States and Europe, where fears are growing that the Chinese exporting machine is costing millions of manufacturing jobs.
Critics say the Chinese currency, the yuan, is undervalued, giving Chinese exporters an unfair advantage.
China not seeking large trade surplus: Hu
FE Team | Published: September 07, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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