By Diao Ying (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-23 07:37

China Thursday urged the European Union to remove barriers in hi-tech exports to China to adjust the bilateral trade imbalance.

China has applied many measures to curb its own exports this year and hopes the EU will remove the barriers to hi-tech exports to China, said Wang Xinpei, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce.

Wang made the remark ahead of next week's annual Sino-EU summit, when top Chinese and EU leaders, including Premier Wen Jiabao and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, will meet in Beijing. Trade imbalance and the value of the yuan are expected to top the summit agenda.

"We hope that through bilateral coordination, especially by removing unreasonable barriers to exports of hi-tech products, China's imports can be expanded," said Wang.

Products that currently cannot be exported freely from the EU include super-speed computers and ultra-precision machinery.

The EU is China's largest trading partner and the biggest export market. China's trade surplus with EU reached $91.7 billion last year. The figure has already jumped to $102.8 billion in the first 10 months this year.

The imbalance in China-EU trade is the result of globalization, according to Wang. "Economic structures of China and the EU are complementary, and China has taken over some industries that may lead to a trade surplus as a result of international industry transfer."

Sales of European enterprises in China have partially offset EU exports. According to figures from the Ministry of Commerce, the sales volume of EU enterprises with investments in China reached $206.6 billion in 2006 compared with the total exports of $43.2 billion.

The value of yuan is expected to be an important topic at next week's meeting. The EU has complained that the "undervalued" yuan has made Chinese products cheaper in countries using the euro.

But China has gradually allowed the yuan to appreciate this year, which has made an impact on some Chinese exporters, said Wang.