 |
China's foreign trade during the January-to-November period expanded by 5.8 percent from a year earlier as exports increased by 7.3 percent and imports by 4.1 percent, yielding a trade surplus of $199.54 billion, the customs said.
The whole year of 2012 will see China's trade grow by 6 or 7 percent while the trade surplus will be between $220 billion and $230 billion, Wang said.
The government has targeted growth of 10 percent for foreign trade this year, a figure that officials have admitted will be hard to achieve.
Chen Hufei, a researcher at Bank of Communications Co Ltd, agreed, saying that the trade surplus this year will "significantly expand compared from a year earlier, and renminbi appreciation will be further pressed in the short term".
Wang said renminbi appreciation in November has eroded the competitive edge of Chinese exporters.
"It had been a tough year for all manufacturers that rely on exports, which have made much fewer orders with the decline in demand," said Zhang Beilei, owner of Wenzhou Gaotian Shoe Co Ltd.
The frequent depreciation of the dollar has driven down profits over the last month, as the company normally negotiates and changes the prices of orders with clients quarterly.
"Textile-export trading companies have been destroyed with the worsening economies in European countries, and we are struggling with a small number of clients making nearly zero profit in the past year," said Ye Fang, the manager of Michele Clothes Co Ltd.
Spectacular images of erupting volcanoes
Feedback
RSS
