Global trade challenges remain despite last year's upswing

STATISTICS FROM THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS show the total import and export value of Chinese goods was 27.79 trillion yuan ($4.32 trillion) last year, up 14.2 percent compared with 2016, reversing the two-year downward trend. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Customs spokesman Huang Songping attributed the increase in trade to the stable growth of the Chinese economy and the global economic recovery.

Not only China, but also the other major economies saw growth in trade last year. But that does not mean the potential risks threatening global trade have disappeared.