Despite the present difficulties facing the world market, China's imports and exports of electrical and machinery products rose by 15 percent to 239 billion U.S. dollars last year. This accounts for 47 percent of China's total trade volume, said Chang Xiaocun, director of the Machinery and Electronic Import and Export Products under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.

In the first quarter of this year, the import and export of

electromechanical products came to 60.4 billion U.S. dollars, an

increase of 14 percent.

Analyzing foreign trade characteristics, Chang said, the

commodity structure has been optimized. Tech-intensive products

made up 91 percent of all imports of electromechanical products

and the export of computers, telecom equipment, audiovisual

devices, air conditioners and microwave ovens climbed by a big

margin.

General trade exports of electromechanical products increased

by 14 percent while imports rose by 30 percent.

Exports to Russia have risen by 57 percent and to other new

markets such as Africa and Latin America increased by 22 percent

and 18 percent respectively.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2002)