BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign trade is expected to decline 16 percent in 2009 from a year ago, to about 2.2 trillion U.S. dollars, the Minister of Commerce said on Thursday.

    The annual retail sales is likely to rise more than 15 percent to 12.5 trillion yuan (1.84 trillion U.S. dollars), minister Chen Deming told a national meeting on commerce.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis