Chief customs department in China forecasts "dark" trade perspectives along with the modernization of the production

Almaty. January 15. Silkroadnews -China's foreign trade ran into difficulties last year, with imports and exports bothexperiencing year-on-year declines, Chinese media informs.
Despite encouraging figures last month, the trade picture for this year remains gloomy,according to Customs data released on Wednesday.
"The double decrease in imports and exports is due to economic slowdown and weakdemand throughout the world," said General Administration of Customs spokesmanHuang Songping.
Chinese exporters faced challenges last year, Huang said, with 2015 exports totaling 14.14trillion yuan ($2.28 trillion), down 1.8 percent from 2014 and the first export decline since2010.
Imports fell by 13.2 percent to 10.45 trillion yuan last year, and the combined volume ofimports and exports stood at 24.59 trillion yuan, a 7 percent year-on-year decline.
Huang forecast that China's foreign trade this year will remain at the same level as lastyear, despite encouraging numbers in December, when exports increased 2.3 percent to1.43 trillion yuan.
Weak global demand and the dropping prices of bulk commodities have contributed to thedecrease in trade.
Huang added that his department will pay close attention to currency fluctuations.
The trade picture may remain gloomy this year, as China is still going through economicrestructuring and a manufacturing upgrade.
Moreover, China is losing its edge on cheap labor costs, said Tong Jiadong, vice-presidentof Nankai University.
"The competition is getting more intense. As the country tries to replace outdatedmanufacturing capacity, new trading methods and high-end products with more addedvalue need to be encouraged," Tong said.
Guangzhou Bosma Optoelectronic Technology Co also witnessed its sales and profitsdeclining, due to decreased demand in traditional markets such as Europe and the US.
But Zeng Dexiang, president of the company, said he remains optimistic, since hiscompany has diversified its product portfolio with cloud-computing segments.
In Wenzhou, the country's trade hub in East China's Zhejiang province, clothingenterprises are facing mounting difficulties in exporting, with a year-on-year plunge of 18percent last year, according to Chen Qixiang, secretary-general of the Wenzhou Chamberof Clothing Commerce.
This is partly because of the slower-than-expected recovery of European economies andthe unstable situation in the Middle East, Chen said.
Dongyi Shoes Co, an export-oriented shoe manufacturer in Wenzhou, is also witnessing asharp yearly decline of up to 10 percent in export volume, as well as fewer orders fromabroad.
"We have no other option but to switch from traditional strong markets, such as Russiaand US, to more emerging ones like the UK, Germany and even Brazil, for more partnersand profits," said Chen Xi, general manager of Dongyi.
The shoemaker has benefited from the depreciation of the renminbi last month, but Chencontended it would be more preferable for the currency to stay stable. "Otherwise, it willbe difficult for exporters to calculate and set the price range to avoid losses," said Chen.