Prosperity, obstacles and challenges existed side by side in China's foreign trade in the first half of 2005, the fourth year following the country's accession to the World Trade Organization .

Already the world's third largest trader, China reported a robust growth in both exports and imports. Now that the three-year post-WTO transition period is ending, however, many domestic businesses have begun to feel the impact of competition and other challenges.

Anti-dumping investigations, safeguard protection and other means of protectionism taken by worldwide trading partners, by developed countries in particular, are forcing China's policymakers and businesses to quickly adjust their international marketing strategies and shift from "quantity-worship" to quality-oriented trade.

According to the General Administration of Customs, China's foreign trade rose 23.2 percent year-on-year to US$645 billion in the first six months of 2005. The figure breaks down intoUS$342.3 billion for exports and US$302.7 billion for imports, up 32.7 percent and 14 percent over the same period of 2004, respectively.

The growth rates are remarkable. Three months ago, the Ministry of Commerce projected the year's trade growth at around 15 percent- 15 percent for export and 16 percent for import.

This represented a significant slowdown from last year's growth of 35.7 percent, though the total trade volume was to top US$1.3 trillion, said a report jointly released by the ministry and its research body, the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute.

In 2004, China replaced Japan as the world's third largest trader following the United States and Germany with its trade volume hitting US$1.15 trillion - US$593.4 billion for exports and US$561.4 billion for imports.

The European Union has become China's biggest trading partner. Its bilateral trade with China grew 23.6 percent to US$100.1 billion in the first half of 2005.

The Unites States and Japan take the second and third places with trade volumes of US$96.3 billion and US$86.5 billion, respectively.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with whom China has adopted measures to facilitate the flow of trade of agricultural products under a free trade agreement between the two sides, remains China's fourth largest trade partner.

"Following China's new round of tariff reductions with the ASEAN trade block starting July 20, the bilateral trade volume is expected to witness further increases in the second half of this year," said Gao Hong, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2005)