China should accelerate the Belt and Road initiative to boost its trade as the country addresses challenges posed by an expected weak global demand this year, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.
"The world may continue to see sluggish global demand this year due to feeble economic growth, and it will pose a threat to the stability of China's exports," the bureau said in a report about global economic prospects.
The bureau said the acceleration of the Belt and Road initiative should help traders grow their business and digest the excessive production capacity in the country. It also said reducing tax and promoting supply-side reform may help revive domestic demand.
The World Bank in January cut its outlook for 2016 global economic growth to 2.6 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from its forecast made in June last year.
"The world will still be stuck in a period of weak economic recovery this year after the global financial crisis ... the stimulus policies around the world may be less effective than before while new growth drivers are yet to be created," the bureau said. "As a result, China's trade will have to overcome some difficulties to keep its growth stable."
In January, China's exports fell 11.2 percent and imports slumped 18.8 percent.
Last year, China's trade shrank and missed the annual target for the fourth straight year. Trade fell short of the government goal of a 6 percent gain, with exports off 1.8 percent and imports slumping 13.2 percent. The value of trade shed 7 percent year on year to 24.59 trillion yuan (US$3.8 trillion).
China has said the country's "trade growth should be higher than the global average" this year.
