Source: China Daily

01-11-2008 10:13

BEIJING, Jan. 11 -- The nation's opening up has laid a solid foundation for its economy while creating great opportunities for international companies, Chen Deming said yesterday in his first public appearance as commerce minister.

Meeting with Chinese and Canadian officials and business people yesterday in Beijing to mark the 30th anniversary of the Canada China Business Council, Chen pledged to provide wider market access to international businesses.

He pointed out that the rate of return for multinational companies in China has been 22 percent, markedly higher than the global average.

China has contributed more than 13 percent to the growth of the world economy in the past five years, Chen added.

He also reported that the latest Customs figures show China's foreign trade volume reached a record high of nearly 2.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2007.

As the head of the Ministry of Commerce, which oversees both overseas and domestic trade affairs, Chen was appointed on December 29 to replace Bo Xilai, who was made the Party chief of Chongqing.

Before becoming minister of commerce, Chen served as vice-minister of the National Reform and Development Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner.

Chen has a PhD in management, which is rare among senior government officials; and a book on the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises that he co-authored is popular in bookstores.

At yesterday's meeting, he was seen talking with visiting Canadian officials and foreign reporters without interpreters.

Canadian trade minister David Emerson praised his new counterpart as "brilliant and with a scientific mind", and said: "We can speak very openly with each other on a range of issues and get things done."

US Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez, who met Chen during last month's China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue shortly after he moved to the Ministry of Commerce, also said Chen had impressed with his nippy handling of complex matters.

At 58, Chen is likely to be in charge of China's trade for the next five years, subject to approval by lawmakers of the National People's Congress in early March.

Despite his credentials, Chen faces a tough workload in the Ministry of Commerce, according to some observers in Beijing. China's foreign trade performance may have been brilliant, but the challenge is whether the domestic market can match that growth.

"The key driving force of China's economic development is gradually shifting from the overseas market to the market at home. Making the domestic market more orderly, and thereby boosting domestic consumption, will be more important than ever," Mei Xinyu, a researcher with the Ministry of Commerce, said.

Besides his background in management, Chen also has a master's degree in quantitative economics. He certainly seems good at numbers - while working in Shaanxi, he once said the best way to relax was to go with his wife on a 4.5-km walk; he knew the exact spot to end, and how long it would take.

 

Editor:Xiong Qu