State Councillor Wu Yi said yesterday she is optimistic that China will achieve its goal in imports and exports set in the ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000).
"It is very likely that we will hit the set target for foreign trade set for the ninth Five-Year Plan, US$400 billion. What we should do now is to try our best to reach the goal ahead of schedule," said Wu, a former trade minister.

Trying to attract more foreign investment and making better use of the funds lies at the center of foreign trade and economic co-operation work for the rest of this year, Wu said.

The drop in the amount of used foreign capital should slow down and should be maintained at last year's level, she said.
The actual amount of foreign capital used in the first six months of this year decreased 7.5 percent from the same period last year to US$17.2 billion, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs.

Analysts said it is a good sign that the drop has slowed from last year.
The amount of contracted foreign capital rose 24.6 percent from the first half of last year.

China approved the establishment of 10,101 foreign-invested ventures in the first half of this year.

Wu said the satisfying results in China's foreign trade and economic co-operation were achieved on the back of the country's overall economic boom.
China's gross domestic product rose 8.2 percent in the first half of this year, according to the National Administration of Statistics. Booming foreign trade and economic co-operation also spurred a rise in the country's economic development, Wu said.

Customs statistics indicate that China's exports rose a strong 38.3 percent in the first half of this year when compared to the same period last year.

(China Daily 07/15/2000)