China kicks off programme to import more foreign goods

SHANGHAI: China on Tuesday (Nov 4) launched a programme to encourage its citizens to buy more imports, as Beijing pushes a long-term plan to turn the country into a major consumer nation.

Premier Li Qiang and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao announced the start of a Big Market for All: Export to China campaign that will see Beijing match foreign manufacturers with domestic buyers and hold more import expos, in what Wang called an effort to "make China the best export destination for more countries".

The initiative kicks off days after China and the US sealed a trade war pause at a meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea, tentatively concluding months of friction between the economic and technological powerhouses.

China is the world's largest exporter of goods, with its government announcing a global trade surplus of nearly US$1 trillion in 2024.

Authorities have in recent years attempted to boost domestic consumption and project an image of openness to foreign sellers through efforts including the massive annual China International Import Expo, which reopens in Shanghai this week.

Wang, who introduced the new import programme in a speech on Tuesday, said China would select five or six countries each year to be special partners in its import promotion drive, but did not specify which nations Beijing would choose.

Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council, said in a speech at the same event that the initiative would promote bilateral trade, but called on Beijing to ensure "clear rules, fair competition and a predictable business environment".

Chinese authorities have struggled to lead the world's second-largest economy out of a turbulent few years marked by sluggish domestic spending, a protracted property sector crisis and the trade war with the United States.

Wang said last month that the country must strive for the "balanced development" of imports and exports.

"Efforts must be made to expand imports ... to meet the needs of industrial transformation and upgrading as well as the needs of people's better lives," Wang said at the time.