US biggest buyer of Chinese exports (2)

Even so, China's total foreign trade was up in the first 11 months of the year, increasing by 5.8 percent to $3.5 trillion, although that rate of increase was far below the goal of 10 percent set at the beginning of the year.

And trade with the US has not been as vigorous in recent months as it was earlier in the year.

The past two months have seen it slow below the 9.1 percent year-on-year rate of increase it showed in the first nine months.

Zhou Shijian, a senior trade expert at Tsinghua University, blamed the slower trade on the US' sluggish economic recovery.

The US economy grew by 2.7 percent in the third quarter of the year. Yet many expect the rate to be slower in the fourth quarter, as the country braces itself for going over the "fiscal cliff", a combination of deep cuts in government spending and tax increases that are scheduled go into effect early next year.

"US consumers see an uncertain economic future and are tightening their purse strings," Zhou said.

Even so, he said, the US is doing much better than the EU or Japan.