China foreign trade outlook seen positive

BEIJING, July 23 (UPI) -- China's trade surplus in this year's first half was off nearly 12 percent from year-ago level, but a top official sees a positive picture in the second half.

Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said the decline in export in the first half was largely due to government policies to cut exports of high-polluting and energy-consuming items.

He said his ministry will study problems in some export industries so it can help them "at a proper time," Xinhua news agency reported.

First half trade surplus totaled $99.03 billion, down 11.8 percent from the same period of last year. First half imports rose 30.6 percent year-on-year to $567.57 billion, while exports rose 21.9 percent to $666.6 billion, Xinhua reported.

Analysts have said the slowing export growth also reflected weaker global demand which could cool China's economic growth.

China's gross domestic product grew 10.4 percent in the first half, down 1.8 percent from the first half of 2007.