China's foreign trade to improve this year: spokesman - Xinhua

A press conference is held to introduce China's imports and exports in 2012 by the Information Office of the State Council in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 10, 2013. According to the latest statistics released by the General Administration of Customs, China's total foreign trade volume in 2012 reached more than 3.86 trillion U.S. dollars, growing by 6.2 percent year on year. The growth rate is 16.3 percentage points less than 2011. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign trade for 2013 will be better than that of last year despite uncertainties, a General Administration of Customs spokesman said on Thursday.

Spokesman Zheng Yuesheng said global economies have launched stimulus policies to prevent growth rates from slumping, adding that China's domestic efforts to boost the growth of foreign trade will have more visible effects this year.

The export managers index for December stood at 34.2 percent, up 2.1 percentage points from November and marking the first rebound since June, Zheng said.

China will still face a hostile foreign trade environment as a result of sluggish demand, increasing production costs, fewer orders and trade protectionism, Zheng said.

China's exports rose 7.9 percent in 2012 from the previous year, while imports climbed 4.3 percent year on year, the General Administration of Customs said Thursday.

The foreign trade surplus widened to 231.1 billion U.S. dollars last year, 48.1 percent greater than that of 2011.

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Growth of China's foreign trade missed the government's 10-percent annual target set for 2012 by rising only 6.2 percent from 2011, customs data showed Thursday.

The country's exports and imports volume totaled 3.87 trillion U.S. dollars last year, and growth slowed sharply from the 22.5-percent rise registered in 2011, Zheng Yuesheng, General Administration of Customs spokesman said.Full story

News Analysis: China's economy to gather steam in 2013

BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Official data suggests China's economy will pick up in 2013, as the global economy is stabilizing and government measures and reforms have come into play, analysts said.

The government announced Thursday that exports gained 14.1 percent in December from one year earlier, up from November's unexpectedly weak 2.9-percent rise. The value of imports rose 6 percent year on year last month, improving from November, when there was no growth. Full story