Foreign trade may grow 7%

China's foreign trade is likely to grow by more than 7 percent from the previous year to reach $4.14 trillion in 2013, slightly lower than the official target of 8 percent, the Ministry of Commence said.

China's Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said at a two-day national conference that opened on Friday the country will continue efforts to maintain steady trade growth in 2014 and speed up the adjustment of foreign trade structure by increasing the import of technology, equipment, energy and raw materials.

The country's exports have picked up in recent months amid signs of a gradual recovery in external demand. In the first 11 months, foreign trade climbed 7.7 percent from one year earlier, with the growth of exports outperforming market expectations by rising 8.3 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs.

The country also vowed to push forward free trade negotiations with trade partners and broaden foreign capital access to service industries, Gao said.