China to become world's 2nd largest exporter in 2007

A senior official of the central government disclosed on August 18 that China is likely to take the position of the U.S. as the world's second largest exporter this year, if the current speed of export growth continues for the rest of the year.

On the China Economic Development Forum on Saturday, Yu Guangzhou, vice minister of commerce, said that China is much likely to outpace the U.S. in terms of export volume within 2007.

Customs statistics show that in the first half of 2007, China's foreign trade volume hit US$980.9 billion, up 23.3% year-on-year. For breakdown, China's export grew 27.6% to US$546.7 billion, while import grew 18.2% to reach US$434.2 billion. For now, China ranks the third after Germany and the U.S. in export volume.

In 2006, the gap of export volume between China and the U.S. is less than US$70 billion, while China's export growth speed was 7% higher than that of the US. If the current growth rate continues, China's export may possibly exceed that of the U.S. by US$50 billion this year.

Moreover, observers in Beijing estimated that China is likely to overtake Germany to become the world's top exporter next year, if its trend of foreign trade growth is not turned.