Export up, foreign trade down in 1998 　　China's overall foreign trade volume dropped last year for the first time since 1983 to hit US$323.93 billion, down by 0.4 percent from 1997, according to the General Administration of Customs on January 11. 　　Its exports in 1998 rose 0.5 percent from a year ago to reach US$183.76 billion while imports going down 1.5 percent to US$140.17 billion. 　　China's trade surplus amounted to US$43.59 billion in 1998, up 7.9 percent over the previous year. 　　Last December's export volume was US$20 billion, an increase of 4.3 percent over the same period in 1997, and imports fell 7.4 percent to US$17.7 billion. 　　 Economicnews 1999-01-12 Page2