Chinese enterprises are helping to ease global inflation by
raising production efficiency, the country's top economic planner
said in a press statement.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) refuted
foreign reports which said China was exporting inflation reflected
in its repeated rises in the consumer price index.
The report said price rises in the manufacturing sector, where
most of the country's exports came from, were moderate despite
rapid general increases. However, it gave no figures.
Meanwhile, the overall profitability of Chinese enterprises was
stable and their profit ratio was estimated to be 6.4 percent this
year, up 0.3 percentage point from the previous year.
This meant Chinese enterprises were not pushing inflationary
pressures on to foreign consumers, but striving to offset the
impact of raw material price hikes by raising production
efficiency, which in turn helped to suppress global commodity
prices.
The report cited World Bank figures that showed the margins of
manufacturing enterprises increased despite sustained rises in
wages and bulk commodities prices.
A survey carried out in September by the People's Bank of China,
the central bank, showed the technological capacity of Chinese
enterprises was relatively low compared with foreign counterparts
and companies still had potential to raise efficiency.
China's production efficiency had a huge impact on prices of its
major export destinations such as the United State and Europe. The
price index of China's exports to the US had increased 2.2 percent
over the same period last year. The growth rate was still lower
than the increase in the overall price index of US imports, said
the Wall Street Journal on November 14.
This indicated that China was not the primary driving force of
price rises in the United States.
Market observers said Chinese exports would continue to help
curb inflation in the developed countries for "a period".
They were echoed by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude
Trichet who said China's inflationary pressures were unlikely to
spread to Europe.
In late November, Trichet said China's commodities were much
cheaper than those made in Europe and their market share was
growing. In view of these facts, Chinese commodities would help
reduce import prices in euro areas.
(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2007)
