China to send trade delegations US and EU

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Summary:

Over the course of the next year, China will be sending out four trade delegations, two to the United States and two various members of the EU. The focus of the delegations is increasing imports from these countries inorder to help bring down their trade surpluses with these nations. It is part of a larger effort by the Chinese government to increase imports and stabilize exports to obtain a more balanced economy. A particular focus of the efforts is to obtain high-tech, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly products. China is already planning to order a slew of these products from Japan at the upcoming China-Japan Green Economy Forum. Also, as part of the efforts, China is planning to reduce import tariffs to increase trade. Smaller delegations are also planned to be sent to other nations. Although economist wonder what real the world impact will be, the efforts do represent a new direction for the Chinese.

Significance:

The efforts show a concerted effort by China to prevent it's economy from overheating. Their awareness that an economy based so heavily on exports isn't such a could thing show progress from China. It will interesting to see if their efforts bear fruit. Also, their efforts to obtain green technology shows a novel concern about the environment, or at very least, a new effort to look good to the international community. Regardless of the intentions, the work China is putting towards a more balanced economy is going to be an interesting development for the future.