China's foreign trade over 60 years

In the South China city of Guangzhou, people are making final preparations for the 106th China Import & Export Fair. Already, the number of exhibition applications has exceeded supply.

Initiated in 1957, the China Import & Export Fair is held twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Its early days saw attendees come mainly from Hong Kong and Macao.

But the event is now China's largest premium category trade fair and also a barometer of the nation's foreign trade.

This epitomizes China's foreign trade development, which has progressed in tandem with the country's explosive economic growth over the past 60 years.

In 1950, China's total import and export value was around 1.1 billion US dollars, accounting for less than one percent of the world's total. In 2008, the figure reached more than 2.5 trillion US dollars, contributing to over 8 percent of global trade.

On December 11th, 2001, China entered the World Trade Organization. The further integration into the global market triggered another round of growth in national trade.

Between 2002 and 2008, the total value of China's import and export reached 10.5 trillion US dollars. That number is equal to more than 70 percent of the past 60 years cumulative import-export value.

China is now the world's second-largest trader. Corresponding to this rising status is a changing foreign trade landscape, most notably in export structures and diversified trade patterns.

Until the new era of Reform & Opening-Up began, primary and resources-based goods remained the vanguard of the country's export, accounting for more than half of that total as of 1978.

Today, however, manufactured goods and high-tech products feature prominently in China's annual export portfolio. This is particularly the case after the nation's WTO entry. Proportions of high-tech products in both import and export gross values increased significantly.

Meanwhile, the decades-old domination of general trade has also given way to a variety of patterns, such as processing trade, counter trade, and border trade.

China's trade partners have increased to include more than 220 countries and regions. The EU, US, and Japan comprise the top three.

Since the new millennium dawned, China has been developing free trade areas. So far, the country has established 12 FTAs with 29 countries and regions. The zones constituted more than a quarter of the nation's total foreign trade volume in 2008.

Foreign trade has now turned into a major locomotive driving China's economy forward at a much faster speed.