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Mechanical and electrical product trade falls in H1

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-30 16:29

Total export-import volume of China's mechanical and electrical products dropped 21.3 percent to $514.96 billion in the first half of the year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced at a press conference today.

Of the total, trade volume of products with high and new technology fell 22 percent to $284.27 billion during the first six months.

Exports of China's mechanical and electrical products grew 30.9 percent on average from 1985 to 2008. But the high growth rate could be history and the sector's further growth relies on structural adjustment in the future, said Zhang Ji, an MOC official in charge of the mechanical, electrical and high-tech industry.

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But Zhang did say China's mechanical and electrical products have taken a larger market share globally, despite a decline in trade volume.

During the first four months of 2009, Chinese mechanical and electrical products made up 25.1 percent of the US imports in the sector, 4.1 percentage points higher year-on-year, said Zhang.

The EU imported 27 percent of mechanical and electrical products from China in the first quarter of this year—1.5 percentage points higher than the same period last year, Zhang added.

Exports of China's mechanical and electrical products account for about half of the country's processing trade sector, said Zhang.