MoC spokesman: Exports won't recover until 2011

A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said China’s exports would not recover to pre-crisis levels before 2011, the South China Morning Post reported. Yao Jian said that signs of recovering demand in export markets would be held back by protectionist measures and a weak US dollar. "The export landscape does not look good in the foreseeable future," said Yao. "We need to create a stable environment for exporters." Chinese officials have been increasingly critical of what they characterize as protectionism by trading partners in Europe and the US, and Commerce Minister Chen Deming recently said the world should be more concerned about the stability of the US dollar than the renminbi’s exchange rate.