The period of the 11th five-year plan is very important for China. According to Zhang Lichuan, a Director with the Statistical Department of General Administration of Customs of China, to be a recognized trading power China must commit to the search for solutions to emerging issues in foreign trade. She also said that the Chinese government should focus on four major hurdles in the field of foreign trade.

Firstly, China should deal with pressure from international markets that are gradually becoming saturated. In 2005, the volume of Chinese exports ranked third in the world, making up 7.3 per cent of the world's total volume, 3.4 percentage points up from 2000. In 2005, ranked among the world's top ten countries in terms of export volume, China is growing much faster than the other nine countries. The growth rate of Chinese exports exceeds the world's average rate of 13 per cent. As a result, the growth of Chinese exports is increasingly subjected to international markets.

Secondly, the cost of Chinese exports is increasing, partly because of the higher cost of labor and environmental protection. Cheap labor is the foundation of the Chinese economy. However, the worker shortage apparent in some areas of China indicates that it is inappropriate to sacrifice workers' welfare for the sake of low export prices and the Chinese government should change the situation. In recent years, China has tightened restrictions on the export of products that consume a lot of energy, create a lot of pollution or use a lot of resources in their production. Limited resources and the environment have become major obstacles to the growth of Chinese exports.

Thirdly, increasing international trade protection has caused China to stumble into difficult territory. China has been involved in the world's largest number of anti-dumping cases in recent years.

Finally, the trade imbalance between China and other countries is getting worse. As the Renminbi appreciates, Chinese enterprises will face greater exchange risks in import-export trade. Increasing pressures from the appreciating Renminbi will create new requirements and challenges for Chinese enterprises engaged in import-export trade.

Editor: Yan