Majority of Shanghai exports are irreplaceable, official says

Containers from all over the world wait to be loaded or unloaded at Yangshan Port near Shanghai on April 24. （Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn）

Intermediate goods and industrial products account for the majority of 85 percent of all the goods exported from Shanghai, indicating that a large number of Shanghai-oriented exports are irreplaceable in the international market, Zhu Min, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Consumer goods only take up 10 percent of all exports, he added.

As per the municipal government's calculations, there are over 58,000 companies in Shanghai with foreign trade records, among them 22,000 have reported trade records with the United States.

Amid rising market uncertainties and volatility in the global economy, Zhu admitted that foreign trade companies will be affected to some extent despite their export destination.

"These companies, which enjoy much competitive edge, are actively working with their US buyers to come up measures to cope with the tariffs. In general, the tariff costs should be shouldered reasonably. But buyers should bear more of the costs now since the US has provoked the tariff difficulties," he said.

While some Shanghai-based foreign trade companies are facing greater pressure from the sweeping tariffs in the short run, the city's foreign trade special teams, which have been set up in each district, have been closely tracking the updates of the local companies, according to Zhu.

The city's overseas rescue service center under the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce is taking the lead to establish a special service alliance to better serve the local companies' outbound reaches, he said.

Meanwhile, the municipal government will hold a meeting for 14 e-commerce platforms and foreign trade companies to help the latter better explore the domestic market demand. Free access to certain platforms have been provided to foreign trade companies, which Zhu considered the joint efforts to overcome the current difficulties.

"Shanghai has a reserve of measures to secure the stable operation of foreign trade companies and stabilize employment. As an opening-up center, Shanghai should play a bigger role when a new trade environment is taking shape," said Zhu.