By Diao Ying, China Daily
BEIJING - For Chinese travelers abroad, shopping for gifts can be a headache. Souvenirs from New York, London or Cairo may look exotic at first, but a closer examination will find most of them are labeled "Made in China".
Joining the World Trade Organization has transformed China from a closed economy into the world's factory. Cheap products from China make daily necessities much more affordable for people worldwide. By buying products from China, people in the United States saved US$600 billion over the past decade, and each household in the European Union could save 300 euros a year, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said recently. It also benefited China itself: The manufacturing sector in the southeast of the country flourished, providing jobs for millions of people.
Things are changing 10 years after China's entry into the WTO. The biggest world factory is on the way to become one of the largest world markets. The country now is the world's second largest importer. It imported US$1 trillion of goods in 2009, compared with US$243.6 billion in 2001. Imports will exceed US$1.7 trillion in 2011, with total imports amounting to about US$10 trillion over the next five years, according to Chen Deming, the commerce minister. China now is the largest export market for Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Brazil and South Africa, the second largest export market for the European Union, and the third largest for the United States.
