Shen Danyang, spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC), has stated that the MOC holds a cautious but optimistic view on China's foreign trade situation in 2014 and is confident that the country's foreign trade will indicate similar growth compared with last year. However, he added that the increase in exports does not mean an improvement in the situation of exporting companies, with many medium-sized and small companies in particular still posting low profits due to high costs, the appreciation of the RMB and lower export prices. The MOC official commented that China needs to closely monitor and analyse its foreign trade, and take effective policy measures to deal with dynamic changes.
Customs data indicate that China's overall foreign trade value amounted to RMB 2.34 trillion in January this year, up 7.3 percent year on year. In the given month, the value of China's exports and imports amounted to RMB 1.27 trillion and RMB 1.07 trillion, up 7.6 percent and seven percent year on year, respectively.
