2008 Foreign Trade Sees Double-Digit Growth   
  
By Lily Wang   

China's foreign trade in 2008 rose 17.8% year-on-year to US$2.56 trillion, of which, US$1.43 trillion for exports, up 17.2% and US$1.13 trillion for imports, up 18.5%, according to news released by the General Administration of Customs of China.
    The trade surplus was US$295.5 billion in 2008, a year-on-year increase of 12.5% or US$32.83 billion.
    Exports in December 2008 amounted to US$111.16 billion, down 2.8% year-on-year, after falling 2.2% in November 2008, which is caused by the demand downturn in the European and the US markets, China's top two export destinations.
    Imports in December 2008 declined 21.3% from year earlier, to US$72.1 billion, after declining 17.9% in November 2008.
    The December trade surplus fell to US$38.98 billion, smaller than the historical high US$40 billion a month ago.
    Despite two consecutive months' trade fall, China's foreign trade for the whole year 2008 still saw an impressive rise with a double-digit growth, sparkling amid the crisis.
    Some trade experts say exports may saw a falling trend in the first two quarters of 2009 due to the demand slump in developed economies. An economist anticipated the foreign trade in January could decline further and would not go up until the US economy shows signs of recovery.
    Roughly 40% of the country's trade is contributed to the top three trade partners - the European Union, the United States and Japan, with 2008 bilateral trade of US$425.58 billion (up 19.5%), US$333.74 billion (up 10.5%) and US$266.78 billion (up 13%) respectively.
   The trade growths between China and the developed economies slowed in the second half of 2008, but those between China and the developing countries increased rapidly, according to the Customs data.
   Trade between China and India rose 34% year-on-year in 2008, to US$51.78 billion, the fastest growth among China's top 10 trade partners.
   China's trade with Brazil soared by 63.2% to some US$48.5 billion in 2008, of which US$18.8 billion for exports and US$29.7 for imports, the trade deficit was US$10.9 billion, up 57.9% over previous year.
   A NDRC official expressed the Chinese government would organize domestic enterprises to attend exhibition held in the emerging economies in order to find new business opportunities. Meanwhile the government will invite more global firms to introduce their advanced technologies and products in China in order to promote trade activities. And the government will continue to take measures to stabilize exports by revising tariff policies and providing financial supports to domestic enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises.
   Given to the global economic situation, Chinese experts are anxious to give suggestions for increment in bilateral trade disputes, especially for China and the US, and claim to fight against trade protectionism.
   The Customs also posted that the foreign trade managed by the foreign-funded firms achieved US$1.41 trillion in 2008, an annual increase of 12.4%. The state-owned enterprises contributed to US$611.0 billion in China's trade for 2008, up 23.5% year-on-year, lifting 3.7 percentage points over previous year, among which US$257.2 billion for exports, up 14.4% and US$353.8 billion for imports, up 31.1%.
   By trade modes, the Customs unveiled the general trade contributed to US$1 235.3 billion in 2008, up 27.6% over one year earlier, among which US$662.58 billion for exports, up 22.9% and US$572.7 billion for imports, up 33.6%. The trade by the mode of processing with supplied materials achieved US$1 053.59 billion, up 6.8% year-on-year, of which US$675.18 billion for exports, up 9.3% and US$378.4 billion for imports, up 2.7%.
   In reference to exported goods, exports of mechanical and electric products ranked the first among China's exports for 2008 and achieved US$822.93 billion, an annual increase of 13.9%. Exports of garments and accessories rose 4.1% year-on-year, to US$119.79 billion in 2008. Exports of plastic products were US$15.83 billion in 2008, up 9.4%, lifting slightly 0.6 percentage points over previous year.
   For 2008 imported commodities, imports of primary products rose 49.2% year-on-year, to US$362.78 billion, accounting for 32% of the total China's imports, and the annual growth is 6.6 percentage points high over one year earlier. Imports of industrial products increased annually by 8.1%, to US$770.31 billion, occupying 68% of the total imports. And that of chemicals and related products rose 10.8%, to US$119.19 billion. China imported 408 thousand units of automobiles, up 30.6%.
   China exported 4.16 million tons of crude oil and 17.03 million tons of oil products in 2008, down 28.4% and up 9.8% respectively.
   China imported 178.88 million tons of crude oil and 38.85 million tons of oil products in 2008, up 9.6% and 15.0% respectively.