SHANGHAI — Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua underscored on Sept 27 the need to promote the development of new industries and business patterns in foreign trade.

Hu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during his inspection of China's eastern economic powerhouse Shanghai.

He stressed fostering new industries and business patterns to boost the steady development of foreign trade and contribute to the formation of a new development pattern with the domestic market as the mainstay, while allowing domestic and foreign markets to boost one another.

Hu visited a local import service platform and foreign trade enterprises, holding talks with foreign trade enterprises to hear their opinions and suggestions, and to learn about the major problems hampering the development of new industries and business patterns.

Hu said that the new industries and business patterns in foreign trade provide new impetus and direction for the sector's development, and will play an important role in stabilizing foreign trade and promoting the sector's transformation and upgrading.

Efforts should be made to build favorable infrastructure for developing new industries and business patterns, and to pursue regulatory innovation in an active yet prudent manner to establish a regulation system tailored to the new industries and business patterns, the vice-premier said.

He called for more support in terms of taxation, financial services and foreign exchange for new industries and business patterns such as offshore trade, cross-border e-commerce and market purchase trade.

Hu also inspected the preparations for the third China International Import Expo, which is scheduled for November in Shanghai.