China’s foreign trade surplus down 9.1% in 2016

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China's foreign trade surplus dropped to 3.35 trillion yuan (about 486 billion US dollars) in 2016, down 9.1 percent from a year earlier, official data showed Friday.

The General Administration of Customs (GAC) says China's exports in yuan-denominated terms dropped 2 percent to 13.84 trillion yuan (2 trillion US dollars) year-on-year in 2016, while imports rose 0.6 percent from the 2015 level to 10.49 trillion yuan (1.52 trillion US dollars).

Proving customs products at Zhejiang's Yiwu, Dec 2016. /CFP Photo

Total export and import value decreased 0.9 percent year on year to 24.33 trillion yuan (3.53 trillion US dollars).

Meanwhile, the country’s exports fell 6.1 percent in December to 1.43 trillion yuan (209.4 billion US dollars), and imports rose 3.1 percent year-on-year to 1.16 trillion yuan (168.6 billion US dollars), GAC said.

A warehouse in Guangdong's Zhanjiang city, Dec 2016. /CFP Photo

"Currently the world's economy is experiencing a deep adjustment period after the global financial crisis…Global trade has entered a recession, anti-globalization and trade protectionism have emerged, all of which heavily increase the uncertainty surrounding the global economy," said Huang Songping, the GAC spokesman.

The yuan's recent slide against the dollar had helped lift exports in November, but the country faces an uncertain trade outlook this year as US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to label China a currency manipulator and slap punitive tariffs on its goods.

Containers at Lianyungang city in eastern Jiangsu Province, Dec 2016. /CFP Photo

Huang said that China will pay close attention to foreign trade policy after Trump is inaugurated as president.

"We reckon that the economies of China and the US are complementary to each other, the trade is mutually beneficial. In 2016, the US was the second biggest trade partner for us and the biggest export market. We hope China and the US, as the two largest economies, can have promising further development in economic and trade cooperation.”