Beijing China's exports growth in June is matching the pace seen in May and will pick up in coming months, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday as it predicted the country can meet its full-year target of boosting exports by 10 per cent.
Anecdotal evidence suggested export and import growth in June had sustained the buoyancy seen in May, when shipments were more than double market forecasts, said Shen Danyang, a spokesman at the ministry.
"China's exports and imports are still growing within our expected range, and they are improving," Shen told reporters, adding that China may take measures to support the logistics industry as a way to boost consumption. He didn't elaborate.
"From what we know from some companies and some regions, (trade) growth in June is still pretty good, and has kept the pace seen in May," he said. "Although the trend of recovery is not yet clear, we see some desirable signs."
Exports in May surged past market expectations to rise more than 15 per cent from a year earlier, a sharp pick up from April's surprisingly weak growth of just 5 per cent.
Imports also trounced forecasts to climb nearly 13 per cent, compared with April's 0.3 per cent gain as copper and crude oil shipments jumped.
The value of both exports and imports hit record highs in May.
Despite the pick up in May, China's export growth this year is running at half the pace of last year, hurt by Europe's debt crisis and anaemic US demand. This had led investors to fret that the world's second-biggest economy is losing steam faster than previously thought.
Indeed, several analysts have said the pick-up in Chinese trade is unlikely to hold up.
They say China's trade growth has been extremely volatile this year. The bounce in May could have resulted from the month having more work days this year than in 2011.
Other indicators also suggests further weakness.
The HSBC flash purchasing managers index released last week suggested China's factory sector shrank for the eighth straight month in June as export order sentiment hit its lowest level in three years.
Analysts, who already believe China could log its slackest pace of economic growth in 13 years this year at 8.2 per cent, think things could worsen with growth even missing Beijing's 7.5 per cent target.
Shen's remarks contrasted with comments earlier this month from Commerce Minister Chen Deming, who said the trade situation was "grim".
"If lucky, we will be able to keep annual growth of around 10 per cent," the official Xinhua news agency paraphrased Chen as saying on June 11.
The Chinese government is sensitive to plummeting trade as the export sector is China's largest employer, and a sharp downturn could throw millions of workers out of jobs and heighten the risk of social unrest.
Having an unhappy populace is especially bad for Beijing this year as it is preparing for a once-a-decade leadership transition that has already been rocked by its biggest political scandal in over two decades.
Beijing has carried out a number of measures to support growth, including the central bank's decision on June 7 to cut interest rates for the first time since the global financial crisis.
Chinese media has reported for several months that China plans a boost for the logistics industry, which includes businesses ranging from transportation to supermarkets.
The Commerce Ministry issued detailed guidelines last week to encourage private investment in the sector.
