Chinese-made Christmas exports have slowed this year, but internal demand is still rising, according to the latest statistics released by China's General Administration of Customs.
   
China has become the world's manufacturing center of Christmas commodities including presents and toys. Chinese-made Christmas commodities are the major force of the world's Christmas market. More than 80 percent of artificial Christmas tree are made in Shenzhen, a city in south China's Guangdong Province.
   
"Chinese merchants will have the merriest Christmas," Time magazine said in its latest issue. But the magazine could find it has drawn its conclusion too soon.
   
Exports of Chinese-made Christmas commodities were hindered by rising raw material prices, lowering price demand enforced by foreigners, and fierce trade competition. The General Administration of Customs statistics shows that Guangdong, China's major Christmas commodity export province, exported US$620 million worth of Christmas goods in the January-November period, down 19.6 percent to that of last same period.
   
China exported US$4.58 million of Christmas toys in the past 11 months, down 25.4 percent.
   
An official with Guangdong provincial customs disclosed that Chinese Christmas toys have been challenged by barriers from European countries, including product quality and intellectual property violations.
   
Insiders say that barriers Chinese Christmas toys encountered at European markets hindered Chinese merchants from earning Christmas money overseas.
   
Although not happy with overseas markets, Chinese Christmas commodities are in rising demand on domestic market.
   
In Beijing, one can see Christmas tree everywhere. Christmas commodities sale is fizz in Beijing's commodity wholesale markets.
   
Detailed statistics of Christmas commodity internal sales have yet to come out, but the phenomenon is very encouraging: internal Christmas commodity sales have occupied some certain market shares.
    
   
Sun Xiaopeng, an official with the Nanjing Jinsheng wholesale market, told Xinhua that the orders for Christmas commodities have seen a leap from last year, with a 5 to 10 percent growth.
   
Chen Tianfen, a Christmas decorations vender in Beijing's Tianyi Market, has been busy since November. "Christmas decorations are selling well, and we are extremely busy during this period," said Chen.
   
Wang Shaoqi, secretary general of Shenzhen handicraft industry association, said that with people's quality of living up, more Chinese have begun to celebrate Christmas, a symbol of China's economic development and residents' improved living standard.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2004)