China exported US$8.08 billion such products last month, up 56.65 percent on the same period last year.

China's imports and exports of high-tech products increased 49.82 percent year-on-year to US$61.43 billion in the first four months of this year.

Imports increased 48.5 percent to US$33.51 billion and exports rose 51.5 percent to US$27.92 billion.

Their growth rates are 1.7 percentage points and 17.9 percentage points higher than those of the country's total.

Imports and exports of high-tech products in the first four months made up 27.5 percent and 22.9 percent of the country's total respectively.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) hailed the rapid growth and the increasing proportion of high-tech products a major success of the country's strategy to develop foreign trade with science and technology.

The State Council adopted the strategy in 1999 in a bid to improve the quality, competitiveness and added value of Chinese commodities on the international market.

A series of supportive measures, including tariff rebates, were devised to promote export of high-tech products and upgrade traditional export-orientated industries with high and new technologies.

As a result China's exports of high-tech products started to grow rapidly.

Since 1999 its annual growth averaged 35.22 percent, around 20 percentage points higher than the growth rates of the country's total exports in the same period.

MOFCOM said it is drafting an advice on carrying on the implementation of the strategy to develop foreign trade in the field of science and technology together with some other ministries and commissions.

It vowed to sharpen China's new competitive edge and transform the country from a "big'' trader into a "strong'' trader as quickly as possible by adopting World Trade Organization permitted finance, customs and quarantine and quality inspection measures.

(China Daily May 21, 2003)