Aug 19, 2009 06:29 PM

Macroreview: Crisis Tests Strength of China's Export Muscle

By Caijing chief economist Shen Minggao and economist He Yin

Despite China's efforts to stabilize its export business, the country's trade surplus will continue to decline through the rest of 2009. World market demand remains weak.

But the recession is giving China an opportunity to pause and review the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the nation's export sector.

One strong point is that Chinese products are maintaining respectable market shares for imported goods in the world's major economies. At the same time, however, recent policy shifts may hurt exports in the long run by favoring state-owned enterprises over private business.