China's foreign trade likely to rise by 6% this year: Minister

BEIJING: China today said its foreign trade is expected to increase by around 6 per cent this year, well below the target of 10 per cent due to downturn in exports owing to global economic crisis.

China's foreign trade is expected to increase by around 6 per cent year-on-year in 2012, state-run Xinhua reported quoting Minister of Commerce Chen Deming.

The growth will be slower than the annual target of 10 per cent set by the government, a figure that officials have conceded will be hard to achieve.

Chen's projection was consistent with the 5.8 per cent year-on-year rise in the country's foreign trade in the first 11 months of the year, as the global downturn has affected the world's largest exporter, the agency report said.

Chen also estimated that China's use of foreign direct investment will reach about USD 110 billion compared to the $116.01 billion in 2011.

Chen said China's outbound direct investment in non-financial sectors will stand at USD 70 billion during the year, exceeding last year's $ 68.58 billion.