China's trade surplus down 50.2% in Jan-Feb

Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said it is still "too early" to assert foreign trade is growing, China Securities Journal reported on Monday.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

China's trade surplus fell by 50.2 percent in the first two months of 2010 over the same period last year, a result of China's strive for a trade balance by taking measures to encourage imports and stabilize exports, the report said, citing the minister.

Chen also points out that it is hard to talk about trade balance and the relations between exchange rates and trade when the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />United States is taking unilateral export restrictions on China, the report said.