Offcial of the Ministry of Finance Answers Questions Raised by Reporters Concern

Q: What is the basic principle for China Tariff Adjustment in 2010? Would you summarize the general situation of it after this adjustment?

A: The basic principles of China Tariff Adjustment in 2010 are: Comprehensively implement the spirits set out at the Seventeenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Third and the Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th;thoroughly apply the Scientific Outlook on Development; persist in scientific and refined management of finance ; sustain the consistency and stability of the import and export ; improve tariff macro-control measures and means under the framework of pro-active fiscal policies; accelerate the stable growth for foreign trade and the structure optimization on imports and exports; promote the industrial structure adjustment; make great efforts to boost stable and rapid economy development.

In accordance with the tariff-cutting commitment to WTO, China will further lower import tariff on six commodities including fresh strawberry. Featured by fewer commodities and smaller tariff rate drop, It has less effect on the general tariff level which will remain unchanged at 9.8 percent in 2009. Among them, the average tariff rates for agriculture products and industrial products are 15.2 percent and 8.9% respectively. Through this tax cuts, China has completely fulfilled its tariff-cutting commitment since it entered into WTO in 2001.

Q: After this tariff adjustment, China has completely fulfilled its tariff-cutting commitment to WTO. Would you briefly report the implementation of tariff-cutting after China's accession to WTO?

A: As far as its accession to WTO, China has conscientiously fulfilled tariff-cutting obligation which has gained the world-wide approval, maintained the state's credibility and set up a good image as a responsible big power.
 
China has reduced import tariff year after year since 2002 and the general tariff rate has fallen from 15.3 percent to 9.8 percent currently among which the average tariff rate for agriculture products adjusts from 18.8 percent to the current 15.2 percent and industrial products from 14.7 percent to 8.9 percent currently.

Besides, the import tariff rate for more than 5,300 kinds of products got substantially lowered in 2002 that regarded as the most commodities tariff rate deduction and the largest decreases. The general tariff level for 2002 fell from 15.3 percent in 2001 to 12 percent in 2002. In 2005, more than 900 kinds of products were involved with tariff-cutting, the last time for a big scope of tax deduction, and the general tariff level lowered from 10.4 percent in 2004 to 12 percent. Since then the following tariff-cutting involved with limited commodities scope and had little effect on the general tariff level.

China cuts import tariff rate to 42 kinds of auto and auto parts including sedan cars on July 1, 2006 when China entirely fulfilled the tariff-cutting obligation towards auto and auto parts. The tariff rate for auto and auto parts dropped from 70-80 percent and 18-65 percent respectively to 25 percent and 10 percent. After the tariff deduction for 6 products including fresh strawberry, China has completely fulfilled tariff-cutting obligation committed to the WTO.

China's accession to the WTO is a great event of historic significance for China's reform and opening-up proceeding and also a prime strategic measure of actively embracing the global challenge. Since China's entry to the WTO, the total import amount of goods increased from 243.6 billion US dollars in 2001 to 1,133.1 billion  US dollars in 2008, 3.65 times increase and a yearly average increase rate of 24.6 percent. It accounted for 6.9 percent in the overall world import amount compared to that of 3.8 in 2001, and ranked the third in the world. Continuously in comply with the requirement of Scientific Outlook on Development, China will intensively develop the effect of tariff to regulate and control China economy.

Taking both domestic and overseas markets into consideration and making full use of home and abroad resources, China will accelerate transformation of the development pattern for foreign trade and promote economic structure adjustment for the purpose of realizing effective and complementary relationship between domestic demands and overseas demands, thus leading a rapid and stable economic development.