China's 2012 foreign trade growth slows to 6.2 pct

Growth of China's foreign trade missed the government's 10-percent annual target set for 2012 by rising only 6.2 percent from 2011, customs data showed Thursday.

The country's exports and imports volume totaled 3.87 trillion U.S. dollars last year, and growth slowed sharply from the 22.5-percent rise registered in 2011, Zheng Yuesheng, General Administration of Customs spokesman said.

Exports rose 7.9 percent in 2012 from the previous year while imports increased 4.3 percent year on year, Zheng said at a press conference.

Foreign trade surplus widened to 231.1 billion U.S. dollars last year, 48.1 percent more than the level recorded in 2011.