China's combined export and import volume in 2012 still ranked behind that of the United States when using the same method to measure, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Wednesday.

A container ship of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) [file photo]

The ministry expects the country's total international goods trading to be 15.64 billion U.S. dollars less than that of the United States according to the measurement adopted by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The announcement is in response to a previous report that China, with its foreign trade amounting to 3.867 trillion U.S. dollars in 2012, has overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest goods trading nation.

The U.S. Commerce Department has released two sets of figures for its international goods trading -- 3.82 trillion U.S. dollars (based on international balance of payments) and 3.882 trillion U.S. dollars (based on the measurement which is similar to the WTO's measurement), said an MOC official.

The WTO usually adopted the latter figure in its annual international trading report that is due to be released late February or early March, the official added.

China's export and import volume increased 6.2 percent year on year to 3.867 trillion U.S. dollars in 2012, according to the data issued last month by the General Administration of Customs.