China's foreign trade to slow to 7 percent

Beijing - China's export and import growth is anticipated to slow to around 7 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2012 due to festival factors, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference, Chen said he believes China will continue to see modest increases in foreign trade this year, with the situation likely to get better in the second half of the year.

"With our efforts, the annual target of 10 percent growth is attainable," he said.

The General Administration of Customs will release the official trade data later this week, said Xinhua.

For the first two months of last year, China's foreign trade totaled $495.83 billion, representing a 28.3 percent growth year-on-year.

Chen attributed the slowdown in foreign trade to tighter environment at home and abroad amid the deepening of the global financial crisis, particularly the impact of the European debt crisis on consumption.

Domestically, rising costs also pushed up prices of goods and service, he said.

He noted China is able to achieve a 10-percent growth in foreign trade this year targeted by Premier Wen Jiabao's report to the parliamentary's annual session.