Beijing will remove export taxes and offer more financial support to the manufacturing sector in a bid to revive its share of global trade, the Financial Times reported. Commerce Minister Chen Deming told a Communist Party newspaper that China would "use all possible measures" to prevent a large drop in external demand. "We should increase our share of the global market … We must transform ourselves from a big export nation to a strong export nation," he added. Withering demand in the West for Chinese-made goods led to a 17.5% drop in exports in January and media reports suggest the deficit was even larger in February. Chen said that the reduction in export taxes would be made in accordance with international trade rules while continuing efforts to restrict industries that are highly polluting, energy-intensive or wasteful of natural resources.