China's foreign trade enterprises should stick to credit management and actively take part in the establishment of the country's credit system to sharpen the competitiveness of Chinese goods in the global market.

The sentiment was urged by government officials, experts and enterprise representatives at the Transnational Business and Credit Management Symposium in Beijing on Friday.

With the speeding up of economic globalization and heated market competition, the establishment of a sound credit system has become a key aspect in perfecting China's market order and lowering trade costs, said Vice-Minister of Commerce Zhang Zhigang.

According to statistics, Chinese enterprises' lack of credit has caused economic losses of 585.5 billion yuan (US$70.7 billion), equal to 37 percent of the country's annual fiscal revenue.

"Credit, as an invisible and invaluable asset, is more important for foreign trade companies," said Wang Zhiping, an official from the China International E-commerce Centre.

He said a good credit rating has become a passport for domestic enterprises entering the global market and will help spread their brand names and reputations.

At Friday's symposium, the China Foreign Trade Enterprises Association under the Ministry of Commerce officially launched a credit identification mark to spur foreign trade enterprises onto strengthening their awareness of credit building.

(China Daily September 20, 2003)