China’s trade ties with PNG hailed

Business

Papua New Guinea is China’s second-largest trade partner in the Pacific region, with two-way trade amounting to US$2.84 billion (K9.39bil) last year, according to a Chinese official.
The Chinese Embassy’s economic and commercial counsellor, Liu Linlin, said this trade level 24.4 per cent higher than the previous year.
“Among this figure, China’s export to PNG is US$774 million (K2.5bil) an increase of 19.4 per cent, imports from PNG is US$2.06 billion (K6.8bil), an increase of 28.5 per cent,” he said. An upward trend between the two countries.
“China suffers a trade deficit of US$1.29 billion (K4.26bil).”
Linlin said trade relations between China and PNG were complementary. “What PNG has, China needs, what PNG needs, China has,” he said.
Linlin said there were mainly two categories that China exported to PNG: Infrastructure needs like machinery and consumer goods for people’s daily use.
“China exports machinery equipment for mining and road infrastructure,” he said.
“Second category of export is consumer goods like telephones, including mobile phones, and other light industrial products.
“There is a kind of characteristic.
“China exporting products to PNG is in line with the need of PNG’s infrastructure construction and the need of people’s daily consumption.”
Linlin also said China was a large importer of PNG LNG second to Japan, mineral products and others.
“We also import agriculture and wood products,” he said.
“For agricultural products, although not big in sum, it will increase.
“Given the complementarity of our two economies, the potential and momentum for more trade is very big, but some issues make the potential of trade not fully developed.”