South China's Guangdong saw negative foreign trade growth in 2014

According to Zhu, the province will introduce a series of measures including establishment of more new trade platforms, organization of overseas promotion events and streamlining trade procedures to maintain growth.

"Traditional processing trade companies will be encouraged to accelerate technology innovation and upgrade their products. Moreover, we will expand the export of self-developed products," Zhu said.

Industry sources said Guangdong's lower trade growth target in 2015 was based on uncertain foreign demand and the province's determination to change its economic growth model amid a "new normal" for the economy.

Lin Jiang, director of the finance and taxation department of the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong, said: "Under the new economic situation, Guangdong, one of the country's economic powerhouses, should become a pilot province to boost trade quality and optimize the economic development model."

Guangdong's economy expects to grow by about 7.5 percent year-on-year in 2015, with fixed-asset investment and total retail sales of consumer goods expected to increase 15.5 percent and 12 percent year-on-year, respectively, according to the government work report.

"The province needs to improve its trade structure by attaching more importance to exports of advanced technology and equipment," said Lin.

Meanwhile, the establishment of a free trade zone in Guangdong, which includes Nansha in Guangzhou, Hengqin in Zhuhai and Qianhai in Shenzhen, will play a significant role in boosting trade by building an international trade practice, according to Lin.

 

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