Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation

2004-03-01 18:00

Foreign Trade In recent years Tibet has taken advantage of state preferential policies to actively expand exports of animal by-poducts, local traditional handicrafts and some other industrial products. Import/export trade totalled US$357 million in 1994, a 250 percent increase over the previous year State-run foreign trade enterprises have expanded their operations and border trade markets have developed to some extent.

Presently, 28 border markets of various kinds are open, mostly on the Sino-Nepalese border The influence of important border trade points such as Zhamu and Burang as China's doorway to South Asia continues to grow, extending into the nation's interior.

As China deepens the reform of its foreign trade system, Tibet has also step by step established an operating mechanism for foreign trade that is compatible with current international norms. In 1994 the exchange rates for China's two currencies were combined to establish a single, managed, ftoating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand.

Banks convert and sell foreign exchange; enterprise foreign exchange earnings go directly to the bank for conversion. State-owned enterprises engaged in foreign trade are being reformed to meet the demands of the modern business system.

They are being transformed from the implementors of state plan to the managers of commodity import/export. Producers and distributors meeting appropriate conditions have been given the power to do business with other countries, so as to with all possible speed develop internationalized conglom erated enterprises combining industry and commerce Utilizing Foreign Capital The government of the Tibet Autonomous Region welcomes foreign investment in energy, transportation, construction, textiles and other light industry, electromechanics, commerce, foodstuffs, aquaculture, processing, tourism and in the development of agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry.

Foreign investors may establish wholly foreign owned enterprises and joint ventures or join in economic and technological cooperation. Medium- and long-term investment projects and high-yield develop ment projects are particularly welcome.

The regional government also encourages individual entrepreneurs and private enterprises to start Sino-foreign invested and Sino-foreign cooperative enterprises and join in reciprocal border trade and compensation trade wherein the foreign partner supplies materials for processing, supplies a sample to he copied in processing, or supplies parts for assembly.

All approved foreign-invested enterprises enjoy state and regional preferential policies (for details, see following section on preferential policies for foreign investors). To date, the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region has approved more than 50 foreign-invested enterprises In 1994 alone, 19 enterprises were approved representing an investment of RMB Y1.02 billion and more than US$ 20 million Businesspeople and partners to discussions and agreements came from the United States, Japan, Germany, Malaysia, Nepal, Macao, Hong Kong and elsewhere.

Economic Cooperation with the Outside World d number of foreign nations and international organizations have begun to cooperate economically with Tibet, implementing some international aid programmes The UNDP beginning in 1981 provided US$ 4 million towards the construction of the Yangbajain geothermal power plant.

In 1989, UN's WFP provided financial aid for comprehensive agricultural development projects geared to drought resistance and prevention and improving irrigation conditions in the four counties of the Lhasa River valley, all of which has already been used.

The UNICEF provided US$ 3.215 million in aid for ten projects including health centres for women and children. In 1995 the UNDP decided to provide US$ 822,000 in aid to four counties, Nyalam, Tingri, Dinggye and Gyirong, in the Qomolangma Nature Reserve in western Tibet for projects involving agriculture, housing, school, wind power and household handicraft production.