China's foreign trade improves, strong rebound unlikely

China's foreign trade improves, strong rebound¹ unlikely

 BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's exports and imports picked up in September due to recovering demand boosted by supportive policies at home and abroad, but a strong rebound in foreign trade is being seen as unlikely in the near future.

Exports rose 9.9 percent year on year to 186.35 billion U.S. dollars in September, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Saturday.

September's export volume hit a record monthly high and the growth was higher than the 2.7-percent year on year increase posted in August, the GAC said.

The easing of policies by foreign governments and orders for the Christmas shopping season have driven up exports to developed economies, said Chen Hufei, a financial researcher at the Bank of Communications.

Li Jian, a foreign trade expert at the Ministry² of Commerce's research institute, said China's own efforts to help trade firms reduce transaction costs and improve efficiency also contributed to the recovery.

Some exporters may have hurried to deliver their orders before the eight-day national holiday beginning Sept. 30 and caused the higher growth in exports in September, Li said.

Imports ended three months of consecutive³ drops in September, up 2.4 percent from a year earlier to 158.68 billion U.S. dollars, according to GAC data.

Chen said import demand has built up on China's pro-growth policies and will continue to increase in the fourth quarter.

Chinese authorities have beefed up incentives⁴ to expand imports in order to balance the country's trade.

In its latest move, the government said last week that it would allocate⁵ 2.5 billion yuan (394.9 million U.S. dollars) from the central budget to offer loan interest discounts to importers of certain types of products this year.

Although imports remained weak in September, there are fewer chances for further decreases in future, as the economic outlook will improve, Li said.

He predicted that the trade surplus will expand somewhat, but will not take up a larger share of China's total trade or economic output.

In September, China's trade surplus rose slightly to 27.67 billion U.S. dollars from 26.66 billion U.S. dollars in August, the GAC said.

The global downturn and a sagging⁶ property sector⁷ softened⁸ China's growth to 7.6 percent in the second quarter, the lowest growth rate in more than three years.

To bolster⁹ the economy, the Chinese government has reduced interest rates twice this year, cut taxes for small businesses, encouraged private businesses to invest in sectors¹⁰ previously¹¹ closed to them and fast-tracked construction projects.

Wang Jun, an expert with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, forecast "relatively¹² severe difficulties" in China's foreign trade for the next one to two years.

In the longer term, China is not likely to maintain the annual export growth of 20 to 30 percent seen in previous years because global demand simply cannot support it, Wang said.

Instead of relying entirely¹³ on external markets, China should strengthen its export industry by offering more tax rebates¹⁴, cutting logistics costs and raising the efficiency of labor¹⁵, he urged.

China's total foreign trade went up 6.3 percent year on year to 345.03 billion U.S. dollars in September and expanded 6.2 percent year on year to 2.84 trillion U.S. dollars in the first nine months, according to GAC data.

In the January-September period, exports grew 7.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars, while imports gained 4.8 percent to 1.35 trillion U.S. dollars, bringing the trade surplus to 148.31 billion U.S. dollars.

During that period, trade with the European Union, China's largest trade partner, fell 2.7 percent year on year to 410.99 billion U.S. dollars, a wider loss than the 1.9-percent decline seen in the first eight months, the figures showed.

Trade with the United States, the country's second-largest trade partner, increased 9.1 percent to 355.42 billion U.S. dollars.

Meanwhile, China's trade with Japan dipped 1.8 percent to 248.76 billion U.S. dollars, faster than the 1.4-percent decline recorded in the first eight months.

1 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

4 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。

6 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

9 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

10 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

14 rebates   

n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 )；回扣；返还（退还的部份货价）；折扣

参考例句：

• The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点，如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
• In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句

15 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。