First Session of Joint Meeting on Northwest-China Commerce Development Held in Yinchuan on August 18. Assistant Minister Chong Quan was present to address the meeting.
Joint Meeting on Northeast-China Commerce Development, approved by Ministry of Commerce, was set up at the beginning of this year, for purpose of strengthening and promoting coordinate development of commercial work in Northwest China. The Meeting, under the auspices of Special Commissioner's Office in Xian of Ministry of Commerce, and with the participation of Department of Commerce Shaanxi Province, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Business Bureau, its main purpose is to serve as a platform in Northwest-China for information and experience exchange, work study, problem solutions, and for putting forward commercial work planning and comments.
At the meeting, the commercial administration leaders from the five provinces and regions and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in Northwest China gave briefings on economic performance in the first half of this year, main problems, ideas and suggestions for work remain to be done. Overall, the Northwest China had achieved remarkable results in the aspect of "invigorate circulation, promote consumption", the total retail sales of consumer goods growth rate was generally higher than the national average, but the import and export impacted by financial crisis, and declined by a large margin.
After listening to the report by Commercial Administration of the five provinces and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Chong Quan fully affirmed the work of the local commerce department in response to financial crisis through "ensuring increase, expanding domestic demand, and adjusting structure". He said, Ministry of Commerce attached great importance to the adverse effects of financial crisis in the development of foreign trade in Northwest China, and would make an extra effort to offer support and service for their commerce development. Most areas in the five northwest China provinces and regions are inhabited by ethnic minorities, commercial work played an important role in booming market, increasing revenue and promoting ethnic harmony especially, the commercial workers should enhance sense of responsibility and mission, be far-sighted as far as policy issues concerned; Take advantage of 10th anniversary of implementing national western development strategy, emancipate mind, broaden concepts, to explore boldly and properly handle the dialectical relationship between ensuring growth and adjusting structure, make efforts on how to work better to provide support and service to national western development strategy.
