World Bank lauds efforts to boost trade

Amid rising global trade tensions and domestic economic rebalancing, the World Bank assesses the evolution of China's foreign trade positively, and is "very impressed" with China's efforts to boost foreign trade, a World Bank economist has said.

China's foreign trade rose 9.9 percent year-on-year to 22.28 trillion yuan ($3.2 trillion) during the January-September period. Exports increased 6.5 percent in the period while imports grew 14.1 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.44 trillion yuan, which narrowed by 28.3 percent.

"We do not see that as an imbalance," John Litwack, World Bank lead economist for China, told Xinhua in a recent interview, referring to the export and import growth rates. "We think that it is quite normal at this point in time."