Trade growth in H2 to fuel economy

Despite softer overseas demand, China's foreign trade is expected to grow during the second half of the year and help fuel the upward momentum of the Chinese economy, a senior commerce official said on Tuesday.

Wang Shouwen, vice-commerce minister and China international trade representative at the Ministry of Commerce, made the remarks at a news conference in Beijing.

"A slowdown in external demand is the most significant uncertainty facing China's foreign trade," he said. As major developed economies are staggering and global trade growth has weakened, new orders for both Chinese enterprises and their counterparts in other countries are declining, he said.

However, China's foreign trade sector is expected to grow steadily on the back of pragmatic facilitating measures at both central and local levels, sound fundamentals of the sector, and increasing competitiveness of Chinese products in high-value and high-tech industries, he said.

Free trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will also help promote the development of China's foreign trade, he said.