China's foreign trade increased 12.6 percent last year to a record $4.62 trillion, a spokesman for the General Administration of Customs, Li Kuiwen, said on Monday.
"Our country's export and import have reached record highs, and there is reason to hope that we will continue to remain the world's largest trading nation. In dollar terms, China’s total foreign trade in 2018 was $4.62 trillion, which is 12.6 percent more than in the previous year", the spokesman said.
China’s exports grew by 9.9 percent to $2.48 trillion, and imports increased by 15.8 percent to $2.14 trillion, he added.
Last year's trade surplus was $352 billion, the figures showed.