Thaindian News

Beijing, Dec 11 (IANS) China’s foreign trade rose by 17.6 percent year-on-year to $334.4 billion in November, compared with 21.6 percent in October, amid weak external demand and a slowing domestic economy, the government said Saturday.

Exports increased by 13.8 percent from a year earlier to $174.46 billion, the slowest growth since February, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on its website.

Weakening consumer confidence in the European Union (EU) and the US, China’s top two trading partners that are still struggling through their sovereign debt crisis, led to falling demand for Chinese goods, Xinhua reported.

In the first eleven months, China’s bilateral trade with EU amounted to $517.11 billion, up 19.2 percent year-on-year, compared with a year-on-year increase of 31.8 percent in 2010, according to GAC data.

China’s trade with the US, the country’s No. 2 trading partner, increased by 16.9 percent from a year ago to $405.43 billion.

Faced with increasing external uncertainties, China’s imports, however, expanded faster than the pace of exports in November by 22.1 percent year-on-year to reach $159.94 billion.

The trade surplus in the month narrowed 34.9 percent from a year earlier to reach $14.52 billion and take the trade surplus from January-November to $138.4 billion, 18.2 percent less than a year ago.

Despite the slowdown in foreign trade, China is set to break a new record for its foreign trade volume this year and secure its title as the world’s second-largest trading country, partly boosted by its trade with emerging economies in the first 11 months.

During the January-November period, China’s imports and exports expanded 23.6 percent year-on-year to $3.31 trillion, far exceeding the full-year figure of $2.97 trillion in 2010, according to GAC data.

China’s trade with Australia, Brazil, Russia and South Africa jumped by 33.8 percent, 36.7 percent, 44 percent and 82.5 percent, respectively, greatly outpacing the average growth.