China's export value fell by 16 per cent in 2009 but monthly exports rose by 18 per cent in December, in a possible sign of economic recovery, the government said Sunday, dpa reported.
China's total foreign trade value dropped by 14 per cent to 2.21 trillion dollars last year, while its trade surplus fell 34 per cent to 196.1 billion dollars, the General Administration of Customs said.
Exports were down to 1.2 trillion dollars and imports dropped to 1.01 trillion dollars, 11 per cent below the 2008 figure, the customs report said.
But total trade rose by 33 per cent year-on-year to 243 billion dollars in December, with exports valued at 130.7 billion dollars, up 18 per cent, and monthly imports soaring by 56 per cent to 112.3 billion dollars.
China's huge trade surplus has created friction with the United States and Europe, where critics have accused China of deliberately overvaluing its currency to make imports to China more expensive and keep the price of Chinese exports artificially low.
In a commentary on Sunday, the official Xinhua news agency said China had contributed to global economic recovery by trying to boost domestic consumption last year as exports fell, including a 4 trillion yuan (580 billion dollars) economic stimulus package.
"Closely related with the developed economies through its high reliance on foreign trade, the Chinese economy also felt the impact from the crisis," the agency said.
"Export growth slowed down, some factories were closed and workers went home as fewer orders came," it said.