Foreign trade slows to US$2.56 trillion in '08

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-06 19:34

BEIJING -- China's foreign trade topped US$2.56 trillion in value in 2008, but the year-on-year growth rate dropped below 20 percent for the first time in seven years, according to the General Administration of Customs.

An employee works at a textile factory in Suining, Sichuan province February 5, 2009. China's foreign trade topped US$2.56 trillion in value in 2008, but the year-on-year growth rate dropped below 20 percent for the first time in seven years, according to the General Administration of Customs. [Agencies]

The total value was up 17.8 percent compared with 2007, but the growth rate was down 5.7 percentage points.

Exports were up 17.2 percent to US$1.43 trillion and imports up 18.5 percent to US$1.13 trillion, but the annual export growth rate slowed by 8.5 and imports by 2.3 percentage points.

The trade surplus stood at US$295.47 billion, up 12.5 percent, according to the administration.