BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) -- China's imports and exports of goods will likely amount to 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars for the whole year, a growth of 20 percent over the year-earlier level, according to a report released Thursday by the Ministry of Commerce.

    The report says in 2006, China's foreign trade stood at 1.76 trillion U.S. dollars, up 23.6 percent year-on-year, ranking third in the world.

    External trade has continued to grow rapidly since the beginning of the year, the report says. Foreign sales of machinery, electronics, textiles and clothing and footwear posted sustained growth. Trade with major partners, including the European Union, the United States and Japan, has increased continuously.

    According to the report, China realized 457.7 billion U.S. dollars in foreign trade in the first quarter of this year, up 23.2 percent from a year earlier. The trade surplus soared 99.4 percent to 46.4 billion U.S. dollars.

    The report believes the overall environment is still favorable for China's foreign trade.