Japan remained China's largest source of imports which were worth US$53.468 billion last year, up 25.0 percent. China's exports to Japan grew 7.8 percent to US$48.437 billion.

Major goods China imported from Japan were automobiles and parts, cameras and films, machinery and electronic products, and chemical products. Imports of all those products increased.

The European Union was the second largest source of imports to China. China imported goods worth US$38.543 billion from the European Union last year, up 7.9 percent. They were mainly machinery, electronic products, automobiles and parts, chemical products and plastic goods.

China's exports to the European Union grew 17.9 percent to a value of US$48.212 billion.

Taiwan Province was the third largest source of imports for China's mainland. While Taiwan exported goods worth US$38.063 billion last year to the mainland, up 39.2 percent, the mainland exported goods worth US$6.586 billion to Taiwan, up 31.7 percent.

The fourth to the 10th largest sources of imports to China were the ASEAN, the Republic of Korea, the United States, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Russia, Australia and Canada.

Total imports from the top 10 trading partners added up to US$245.7 billion, accounting for 83 percent of China's total imports.

China's total foreign trade turnover last year surged 21.8 percent, reaching US$620.768 billion.

Shi Guangsheng, minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, said in a recent speech that China's surge of foreign trade turnover was mainly the result of the country's fast economic growth, a better-than-expected world economy and the positive effect of China's membership of the World Trade Organization.

The minister predicted that China's foreign trade would continue to grow in 2003.

(People’s Daily January 30, 2003)