SMEs face more opportunities, challenges
( 2002-06-12 09:56 ) (1 )

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Asia-Pacific region are expected to co-operate more in the future, according to participants of a seminar on "Opportunities and Challenges: Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) SMEs after China's Accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO)."

The two-day seminar which opened on Tuesday in Qingdao of East China's Shandong Province, has listed improvements to be made in SMEs' investment and financing sectors, the development environment and market access.

Reduction of tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers, increasing trade and investment opportunities, cultivation of entrepreneurial spirit, and improving SMEs' operating environment in all APEC member economies were also highlighted by the seminar.

The Chinese Government has given much encouragement and support to the development of domestic SMEs, -- setting up relevant organizations, improving legal and policy systems, establishing a credit guarantee system and service system and enhancing SMEs' international co-operation and exchanges.

More than 200 officials, experts, scholars and SMEs from the Chinese mainland, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mexico participated in the seminar.

Shao Ning, Deputy Secretary-General of the State Economic and Trade Commission, said China's accession into the WTO has brought more chances of development for SMEs of the Asia-Pacific Region, as well as more challenges.

Zhao Jianglin, an expert from the APEC Research Centre of State Academy of Sciences, said China has become an important market for the further development of the region's enterprises.

More than 70 per cent of China's foreign trade comes from APEC members, and SMEs have covered an important part. Exports and foreign investment from APEC members of the region have accounted for 30 and 10 per cent of the region respectively.

To date more than 8 million SMEs exist in China, covering 99 per cent of the total, with a gross domestic product value of over 60 per cent.