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Long-term export slowdown to spur greener Chinese

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-12-22 15:18

Chinese exports were expected to face a lingering weak global demand for a "rather long time" as the international economic crisis was far from over, Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said on Tuesday.

Protectionism would be on the rise, which would add pressure on China's exports, Liu told a conference in Beijing.

Government data show that from January to November, the country's imports and exports totaled $1.96 trillion, down 17.5 percent compared with the same period last year, with exports down 18.8 percent.

China's economic growth mainly relied on investment and foreign trade, with foreign trade contributing about 60 percent of the country's GDP last year.

The export weakness prompted the government to step up reform of the country's economic structure, he said.

"As global demand is shrinking, structural adjustment is unavoidable for some industries that are highly dependent on exports." Liu said, referring to high-energy-consuming and high-polluting sectors, including the steel, flat glass, aluminum electrolysis and shipbuilding industries.

"China has to promote energy consumption efficiency and technical innovation and develop a low-carbon economy, which will help sustain economic growth," he said.

China has announced that it will reduce carbon emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent from 2005 levels.

"Greener economic development is urgently needed, although ongoing urbanization and industrialization pose great challenges," he said.

Chinese banks had played positive roles in helping adjusting industrial structure in line with the government policies on energy conservation and environment protection, he said.

As of the end of September, credit from major Chinese commercial banks to the steel industry rose 13 percent from a year earlier. The aluminum electrolysis sector saw credit up 19 percent and flat glass saw a decline of 45 percent from a year earlier, he said.

Those figures were far below the average loan growth of 31 percent to China's industries in the first nine months, he said.