China's October foreign trade drops 8.3%

China.org.cn, November 10, 2011

Containers pile up on a cargo ship in a port in China. [File photo]

China's foreign trade fell 8.3 percent from September to US$297.95 billion in October, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced Thursday.

The prospect for China's exports will be quite grim in 2012, due to a sluggish demand from the European Union and United States, both major trade partners of China, together with a rampant trade protectionism, said Li Jian, a researcher at the China Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.