China's foreign trade volume expected to drop by 15%

China's foreign trade volume is expected to drop by 15 per cent this year, with 17 per cent slide in exports against the backdrop of $190 billion in trade surplus, an expert has said. Pei Changhong, an expert on finance and trade is however optimistic that exports would see a 15 per cent rise next year.

"In fact, China's imports had increased but price drop had lowered the import amount," he told a press conference after launching an economic Blue Book at the Chinese Academy of Social Science.

Pei said though exports declined by 19 per cent between January and October, export figures showed recovery trend from July to October, with $100 billion in monthly turnover.

China raised export tax rebate rate seven times last year, bolstering exports significantly.

Pei said Asean had overtaken Japan and had become China's fourth largest importer after the European Union, US and Hong Kong during the Jan-Oct period. He expected a bigger impact when the China-Asean Free Trade Area (CAFTA) comes into force next year.

Currently, only 70 per cent of trade between China and Asean are zero-tariff, and with CAFTA coming into effect next year, trade between both sides will be 100 per cent zero-tariff.