Background tips: China edged out Germany to be the world's biggest exporter in 2009. The country saw its first monthly trade deficit in six years in March, 2010.

China's rise to the position of world's largest exporter in 2009 has once again fueled foreign criticism that the country has followed a mercantilist policy to keep its trade surplus "artificially high".

But a list of China's top 200 exporters shows that the accusation is obviously untrue.

Of the top 200 exporters in China, 153 were overseas-funded in 2009 compared with 141 in the previous year, the China Customs magazine reported.

The figures speak volumes about the openness of the Chinese economy and the contributions foreign companies have made toward China's export growth as it integrates with the global economy.

The benefit of foreign investment for China is also obvious. With their funds, technology and access to overseas markets, these overseas companies have played a very important role in China's rapid rise as a global trade power in recent years.

However, while increasing "Made-in-China" exports have significantly improved the lives of consumers around the world, a number of critics in the West have tried to label the country as a mercantilist exporter and blame it for their economic woes at home.

The latest list of China's top 200 exporters shows that the country has definitely not followed any mercantilist policy to tilt the playing field in favor of homegrown exporters.

On the contrary, as a crucial manufacturing powerhouse for the global supply chain, China's robust export sector is more than just a growth engine for itself. By ranking among China's top exporters, these overseas-funded companies have very likely served as a source of growth for their own countries.

(China Daily 04/22/2010 page8)