China tossed a bone to trading partners attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting this week by announcing a series of measures including more bank credit for high-tech imports and quicker approvals for meat and seafood shipments.
Apec leaders converging on Beijing are intent on accessing China’s vast market. More equipment imports would appeal to the US, Japan and Korea while more fruit, seafood and meat imports would be welcomed by neighbouring Taiwan, southeast Asia and especially Australia, which hopes to ink a bilateral trade deal later this month.
The high-tech equipment imports would help upgrade China’s industrial capacity, the state council said. The support comes as many state-owned businesses, laden with debt from recent expansions and upgrades and restricted from accessing new loans if their industry has overbuilt, struggle to meet new mandates from Beijing to keep economic growth ticking along.