How do you evaluate the nation's exports situation this year? How severely affected will it be?

I'm based in Europe, and I strongly feel that the region's consumption is shrinking. As China's largest trade partner, Europe reflects the general picture of China's exports. It's not positive, and that's it.

But Chinese manufacturers must try to maintain and even strengthen their competitiveness. They have to be fully prepared for climbing up the global value chain in the long term.

During the past few years, a number of Chinese manufacturers have pledged to upgrade their businesses and enhance their branding, research and design, and expand sales abroad. How do you evaluate their efforts, and can you feel any change of attitude in the global market toward the made-in-China products, which used to mean cheap prices and low quality?

We see made-in-China goods everywhere, and this fact itself shows that China is improving its manufacturing capacity and quality.

From my perspective, what we need to improve is brand building. But branding is a long-term and arduous task, and we are well under way.

Pascal Lamy will step down from the post of director-general of the WTO in August, and a batch of candidates are racing for the top job at the global trade arbitration organization. What are your comments?

Many believe the next head of the WTO should come from a developing economy, and China supports that view.

No matter who he or she is, we welcome a candidate who has strong skills, and who is in favor of free global trade and a multilateral trade mechanism, and who firmly advances the Doha round of talks.