China launches import promotions to address imbalance concerns
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Premier Li Qiang launched on Nov 4 a series of events called the Big Market for All: Export to China, aiming to boost the nation's imports from other countries.
PHOTO: AFP
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SHANGHAI – China unveiled a new programme to boost imports from other countries, as Beijing seeks to mitigate trading partners’ concerns over the nation’s goods flooding their market and crowding out local industries.
Premier Li Qiang launched on Nov 4 a series of events called the Big Market for All: Export to China, just one day ahead of the opening of the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.
The programme will be carried out annually in an effort to “actively respond to trade partners’ demands and concern”, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said at a ceremony kicking off the events.
“It is a pragmatic initiative by China to advance institutional opening up and push for the balanced development of imports and exports,” he said in Shanghai on Nov 4.
China’s exports to other countries have soared in 2025 as shipments to the US have slumped due to President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
The manufacturing powerhouse is on pace to log a record US$1.2 trillion (S$1.57 trillion) in trade surplus in 2025, underscoring the deepening imbalance that is putting pressure on nations to act to contain the potential damage to their domestic industries.
Mr Wang said China will focus its import promotions on five or six countries. These promotions will include special exhibitions and “targeted purchases” to help the selected nations sell their products in the Asian country.
The government will support trade partners in setting up national online shops on leading Chinese e-commerce platforms, he added.
Starting 2026, China will publish an annual report to review the effects of the import promotion programme and assess partner nations’ ability to sell into China, Mr Wang said.
The goal is to “make China the best export destination and the engine of development for more countries”, he added. BLOOMBERG
