Foreign Trade

The year 1999 saw the steady development of the city’s foreign trade. Exports of mechanic and electrical products were worth 1.32 billion USD, accounting for 51.5% of the total export. Export from common trade totaled 1 billion USD, an increase of 21.6% over the year before. The major features for the city’s export are: firstly, the self-managed export has expanded. The volume of export saw two digit increase compared with the same period the year before. Such export of the city was 427 million USD, up by 21.3% over the year before. The textile enterprises, in particular, fulfilled 112 million USD worth of self-managed export, an increase of 24.8% compared with the same period before. Secondly, the specialized foreign trade companies gradually steeped out of their dilemma. They achieved 500 million USD of self-managed export in the year, an increase of 5% over the same period the year before. China Trade Development Company had an increase of 88% compared with the same period before. Thirdly, the export ratio of foreign investment companies was more than 60% of the total, with 1.601 billion USD of export at the year-end, accounting for 62.56% of the whole city. Sharp Electronic Component Co. Ltd. and Alps Electronics Co. Ltd. have become the major force for exports. Fourthly, the diversified market strategies started to function. The export to Asia had obvious increase in the year, with a growth rate of 17.3%. Of the total, export to Korea increased by 129%, to Japan by 19%, to Thailand by 130%, to Indonesia by 90.5%, to Oceania by 13.2%, to Latin America by 7.2% and to Africa, by 0.4%. The city now exports to 130 countries and regions of the world.

Foreign Economic Cooperation

Transnational operation and management has made great achievements. In 1999, the city encouraged to start the operation of overseas processing with brought-along materials. By doing so, the comparative advantages of state owned industries were utilized and a group of enterprises with strong technical force and solid industrial foundations were organized to go abroad and start the processing and assembling with their own brought along materials, components and parts. With their existing equipment and mature technology, they are encouraged to develop overseas processing trade in the countries and regions suitable for their businesses. 7 enterprises including Jinkamen (Cambodia) and Feima Textile Machinery (Pakistan) of Guangming Group, Little Swan (Malaysia), Little Swan (Indonesia) Co. Ltd., etc. were among the first batch of enterprises who have obtained the “Overseas Processing Trade Permit” from the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Trade. Wuxi State-owned No.1 Cotton Mill and Qinfeng Group signed a 3-year operation management contract with a textile plant in Ethiopia and they sent over 26 specialists in management, techniques and finance to that plant. Consequently, export of the No.1 Cotton Mill in the whole year totaled 32.95 million USD, an increase of 39.9% compared with the same period before. The rational combination of foreign economic cooperation and foreign trade greatly promoted the sustainable foreign trade development of the city.