Traditional Foreign Trade Province Takes on New Look Traditional Foreign Trade Province Takes on New Look 2002/2/21 Statistics recently released by the customs authorities of Guangdong Province, in south China, reflect the province's change in foreign trade in 2001. Statistics recently released by the customs authorities of Guangdong Province, in south China, reflect the province's change in foreign trade in 2001. First, the province's export volume reached 86.42 billion U.S. dollars between January and November last year, or 35.8 percent ofthe country's total. In November alone, its export volume witnessed an increase of 9.3 percent, reaching 8.72 billion U.S. dollars. Second, collective and private enterprises have become a burgeoning force in the foreign trade market, which was formerly controlled by state-owned enterprises and foreign-invested companies. The statistics reveal that the export volume achieved by foreign enterprises stood at around 27.88 billion U.S. dollars during the same period, up 16.9 percent. The export volume of collective enterprises climbed by 34.7 percent, to 3.1 billion U.S. dollars, and that of private enterprises was 1.22 billion U.S. dollars, 2.2 times as much as inthe same period of 2000. Third, Guangdong has stable export markets, although the world's foreign trade on the whole is still sluggish. Between January and November 2001, the province's exports to Asia, Europe and Africa maintained a steady growth. Exports to Hong Kong reached 30.28 billion U.S. dollars in the period, and pushed Hong Kong to the position of the province's largest foreign trade partner, following which came the U.S, the European Union, Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Fourth, the product structure of the province's exports was further optimized. The export value of electromechanical products ballooned by 9.9 percent to 50.06 billion U.S. dollars, representing 57.9 percent of the total. The export value of labor-intensive products drop overall, although the decrease amplitudes have started to narrow. As the spearhead of China's opening-up and market reform, Guangdong has consistently taken the lead in the country's foreigntrade, which has become an important part of its development strategy. Close Windows MAKINGINVESTMENT INHUANGPU DISTRICTGUANGZHOU