China's exports improve in July

Zhuang said China should continue to optimize its export structure, enlarging the share of electronic and machinery products.

Exports of electronic and machinery products grew by 4 percent to reach $102.85 billion in July, accounting for 55.3 percent of total exports. The proportion was 57.8 percent in the first half, indicating more efforts in the coming months.

Liu Ligang said the long-expected detailed plan on building a pilot free trade zone in Shanghai is likely to be announced in late August or early September, which will give a boost to the service trade.

But Liu warned a rising yuan will continue to hinder China's exports in the second half of the year.

Liu said the Chinese yuan has been strengthening even though the country's economic recovery is weak. It is mainly due to arbitrage behaviors capitalizing on the interest rate differential between the domestic and international markets.

He expected the central bank to further widen the daily trading band of the yuan against the US dollar.

China's economy has been stuck in a protracted weak recovery, easing to 7.5-percent growth in the second quarter from 7.7 percent in the first three months and 7.9 percent in the final quarter of 2012.