Healthy growth for foreign trade figures

Zhong Shan (R2), vice-minister of commerce, and Zhu Zhixin (L2), vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, attend the first weekly policy briefing of the State Council , Jan 16, 2015. [Photo by Zou Hong/english.gov.cn]

Imports and exports amounted to $4.3 trillion for 2014, up by 3.4 percent annually, as China's trade contributed more to world economic growth, a senior official told the first weekly policy briefing of the State Council on Jan 16.

"It is estimated that the contribution of foreign trade to China's economic growth this year would be around 10.5 percent, the highest since 2008," said Zhong Shan, China International Trade Representative and Vice-Commerce Minister.

According to Zhong, barring non-comparable factors, the annual growth rate of imports and exports reached 6.1 percent, with exports growing by 8.7 percent and imports by 3.3 percent.

China has maintained its position as the world's largest trader of goods, with its global exports reaching 12.2 percent last year, he said, noting that the figure is 0.5 percentage points higher than for 2013.