BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's exports and imports declined for a second consecutive month in December, reflecting weakening external and domestic demand amid the financial crisis, customs officials said Tuesday.
Exports fell 2.8 percent from a year earlier to 111.16 billion U.S. dollars, while imports fell 21.3 percent to 72.18 billion U.S. dollars, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said.
The decline rates for exports and imports accelerated from November.
Exports fell 2.2 percent in November, the first monthly decline since June 2001. The previous decline, a much smaller 0.6 percent, reflected slowing U.S. demand after the tech bubble burst.
In December, exports fell 3.3 percent month-on-month, while imports fell 3.6 percent.
The trade surplus was 38.98 billion U.S. dollars, down from November's record 40 billion U.S. dollars.
Total trade for 2008 was 2.56 trillion U.S. dollars, up 17.8 percent from 2007. The total included 1.43 trillion U.S. dollars in exports, up 17.2 percent, and 1.13 trillion U.S. dollars in imports, up 18.5 percent.
The full-year trade surplus was 295.46 billion U.S. dollars, up 12.7 percent, the GAC said.
The European Union remained China's top trade partner last year, with bilateral trade of 425.58 billion U.S. dollars, up 19.5 percent. The growth rate, however, was lower than the 27-percent increase in 2007.
Trade between China and the United States, the second-largest trade partner, rose 10.5 percent to 333.74 billion U.S. dollars. Japan remained China's third-largest trade partner, with bilateral trade of 266.79 billion U.S. dollars, up 13 percent.
Feng Lei, a foreign expert with the Institute of Finance and Trade Economics of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the country's foreign trade would further deteriorate as the world economic recession spread.
"But it is not so dire as imagined, as falling foreign trade would ease pressure of yuan appreciation and the huge trade surplus. It would also help enhance exports restructuring."
Zhang Junsheng, a foreign trade export with the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics, said the 2.8 percent fall in exports was less than expected because of flexible macro policies.
He expected rebound in foreign trade in the second half.
The 2.8 percent drop in exports was less than the plunge of 42 percent in China's Taiwan region and 17.4 percent in the Republic of Korea, he said.
Weakening exports pushed manufacturing enterprises to reduce imports of materials.
"China has adopted looser monetary policy, which will take effect gradually. The priority is to boost domestic demand", he said.
