A trade deficit, if one happened in March, would be a "temporary phenomena" for China on the way to recovering its economic growth and "cannot last for long", Chen Deming, minister of commerce, told China Daily on Thursday.
China insists that maintaining the trade balance is the best scenario for the nation, and China "never strives sedulously for surplus nor deficit," as China cannot "afford to deal with either of them," he added.
Chen said he thinks China had a trade deficit in March, which indicates "China heralds a much open attitude towards foreign trade activities (imports)." It also sends a warning that nations which recovered earlier from the financial crisis, such as China, will face severe challenges in months ahead, said Chen.
"I don't expect that the deficit would be a long-term phenomena," Chen said.
Chen said he has concerns about surging prices for commodities that China imports and the slackened economies, high unemployment rates and weak consumption power with the United States and the European Union.
"China has to be prepared for many uncertainties in the global market that would create difficulties and pressures for the nation," Chen said.
China is under pressure from the US to revalue the yuan, but Chen said the market and how open the market is to the outside, rather than its foreign exchange policy, has the decisive role on how the trade would go.
