China’s Auto Exports Depend on Quality

　　Editor's Note: The first meeting of Global Automotive Forum will be held from September 16 to September 17 in the city of Chengdu. The theme is "shaping the future of auto industry in a time of changes". In the forum participants will discuss a number of hot issues related to several industries and talk about the major challenges and opportunities which auto industry faces in the post-crisis era. The issues include the rise of Chinese auto industry and the shift of the focus of world's automotive industry.

　　During the meeting, Rufus H • Yerxa, the Deputy Director-General of WTO, accepted the exclusive interview with Sohu Auto.

　　Sohu Auto: Today we are very delighted to invite the Deputy Director-General of World Trade Organization Rufus H • Yerxa to have an interview with Sohu. We would like to discuss the issues of automotive trade across the world. First of all, Rufus H •Yerxa would like to say hello to Chinese friends and people who are concerned about auto industry and trade.

　　Rufus H • Yerxa: I am so honored to participate in the interview with Sohu today. I am also very happy to talk about some issues on automotive industry.

　　Sohu Auto: First of all, could Mr. Rufus H • Yerxa analyze what stage the world's economy is in. Has world's economy completely recovered from crisis?

　　Rufus H• Yerxa: This issue is more complicated. I think the world's economy has become much better compared with the situation in the year of 2009. In 2009, the global trade dropped by 12%. In the year of 2010, the world's trade has grown by 10%. Now the whole world is in an imbalanced period. For example, Asian countries performed better in terms of recovery. The growth rates in the United States and Europe were slightly slower. However, a more serious problem which China faces is high unemployment rate. We believe that the most serious time has passed away.

　　Sohu Auto: We have noticed that since the United States became the trade center in the world, China has gradually promoted its position. Now in your opinion, where is the growing point of world's economy, in United States or in China? Based on the current situation China is the world's factory. However, China lacks some high-tech industries. In the United States, footwear and garment industries have disappeared. However, in China there are more such kinds of industries. The United States is at the top of aerospace, biotechnology and many high-tech industries. Both China and the United States are driving forces. Does China or the United States have more economic growth?

　　Rufus H • Yerxa: According to the statistics, the United States ranks first among all the economies in the world with the highest GDP and GDP value in major industries. European countries, especially Germany, have relatively higher GDP. Those countries are also large exporters. Now China is gradually becoming a major exporter. The issue is not about who is first and who is second. For WTO, all the countries are of same importance. Their economies are important. We need to come out from the crisis and establish a stable economic environment. I believe that through our efforts, the United States, China, Europe, Japan and other economies will lead the economic recovery of the poorer countries. It is the hope which we have stuck to for the past two decades. The growth of other countries in Asia such as Vietnam is also fast, which helps millions of people come out from poverty and contributes to world's economic security and development. For WTO, we need inter-governmental cooperation to resolve trade issues and set norms of international rules.

　　Sohu Auto: You have just mentioned the WTO's international standards. Could you offer the overall evaluation on the standards of world's trade which China faces?

　　Rufus H• Yerxa：I believe that the WTO's influence on China is positive. Since China became a member of WTO, its economy has been growing continuously. In the year of 2008 world's economy suffered from a large number of problems. China tried its best to get rid of the crisis. I think China is marching towards the world's economy with a more open and standardized and stronger stance. Our international economic policies also played an important role. After becoming a member of WTO, China has been able to take advantage of some WTO's norms and change the domestic market. Then China's economy will become a market-oriented economy and there will be better corporations and products. Economic problems will be better solved. I know that China has many problems in other fields such as finance. For example, there are some problems with capital credit in the field of banking. I believe that China has been doing well after joining in the World Trade Organization.

　　Sohu Auto: Now let's come to the last question which is about the automobile exports. Our current production capacity has exceeded 15 million units and in the year of 2009 the sales were about 13.6 million vehicles. Now the exports business of China's auto industry is in an unstable state. Fe years ago, China was able to export a large number of cars to Russian market and Southeast Asian market. Under the circumstance of economic crisis, China exported about 700,000 units in 2009, which accounts for one fortieth of the total capacity. The exports volume is smaller than that of South Korea. Therefore I have some questions. What stage is China's automotive exports business in? From the perspective of WTO, how will WTO promote China's automotive exports business?

　　Rufus H• Yerxa：According to what you say, I think the WTO is not a business-related organization. WTO is responsible for formulating rules rather than offer industry recommendations. I think China should improve the quality of the products and it will naturally become the world's major exporter. At the same time, China should minimize trade barriers and strengthen the process of opening up. China's entry into WTO is a symbol of free market. However, some things need to be improved. China can further gain the access to the markets in other countries, such as Asian markets, European markets and other emerging markets. China has to build a number of prestigious brands. We need follow the path of South Korea and Japan to become one of the world's major exporters. I believe the current situation is very good of China. We need to make more efforts. (Translator: Qinghua/Hanxin)