China's State Council has urged local authorities to intensify efforts to stabilize exports and imports, which both declined in the first seven months of this year. According to a statement released after an executive State Council meeting on Tuesday, it suggested that trade facilitation measures adopted by the country's free trade zones should be duplicated and used in other regions.

The statement added that standards at different customs areas must be unified, and examination procedures should be simplified. It concluded by saying that financial institutions should enhance credit support to companies that have received export orders, help them control exchange rate risks and expand the coverage of export credit insurance.

Recent data showed that foreign trade in the first seven months of the year was 3 percent lower than that of a year before.