September 8, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) will introduce eight measures to boost the volume and quality of imports to redress the country's trade balance, the official China Securities Journal reported Tuesday, citing a ministry official.

Speaking at the 2010 China Import Forum on Monday, MOFCOM deputy international trade representative Chong Quan said the government plans to use the measures to improve import duties mechanisms, ease import restrictions with the aim of simplifying the import process and make financing more easily available to importers.

Other measures include importing more advanced technology and key equipment, resolving trade disputes and encouraging overall import volumes, the paper said.

Bao Ling, deputy director of MOFCOM's foreign trade department, told the paper that China is now the second-largest importer in the world and its imports would likely exceed $1 trillion this year.

Chinese companies have raised concerns that trade barriers present a big obstacle to importing more goods and services.

An official from China National Machinery Import and Export Corp. was cited as saying that his company was eager to import more high-grade, precision and advanced products such as civilian nuclear power plant technology, but that some countries had imposed restrictions on the export of those products.

China has cut overall import tariffs to 9.8%, far lower than the 46.6% average among developing countries, the paper added.