Bali Governor Mangku Made Pastika said Bali-China trade relations have been increasing, marked with a plan of big investors wishing to operate in the island paradise in the power sector.
A Chinese company Chen Zhen wished to turn Bali into a Green Province, the governor said when meeting Chinese Parliament speaker Wu Bangguo in Nusa Dua, head of the Bali provincial administration public relations Ketut Teneng said here Thursday.
Pastika also told his guest that Bali expected to learn from China on development of infrastructure, transportation and agriculture which have great potential in the island paradise.
Trade between Bali and China had already been going on fruitfully as apparent in the exports and imports between the two countries, but this year Bali suffered a deficit in its trade with China.
Bali’s exports included handicraft articles, products of small industries, canned fish, garments, and sea fish products, worth only 1.3 million US dollars in the January-September 2010 period.
Chinese imports in the third quarter of this year reached 22.6 million dollars of the 64.9 million dollars of the total imports in that period, and the imports from China increased 266 percent compared to that in the second quarter of the same year worth only 6.1 million US dollars.
Chinese trade activities with Bali in the last three months reached 34.9 percent of Bali’s total trade, Singapore 12.2 percent, and Australia 11.1 percent, with the rest spread over other parts of the world including Europe.
In the second quarter of this year, Bali’s imports reached 91.3 million dollars, which included 30.2 million dollars by the UK, Singapore 15.4 million dollars, and China 6.1 million dollars.
The main import commodities in Bali’s economic development include ships, floating structures, mechanical machinery, electrical equipment, jewelry, and iron and steel products.
Bali is not alarmed by the increasing imports, because the commodities are products with a positive effect on the welfare of the people.
