Qu said he continues to expect more monetary and fiscal easing measures in the coming weeks to stimulate domestic demand and prop up growth.
In the Jan.-May period, the country's exports increased 0.8 percent and imports decreased 17.2 percent year on year, with foreign trade volume down 7.8 percent, data showed.
Meanwhile, China's trade with the European Union, its biggest trade partner, waned by 7.1 percent, but that with the United States rose 2.8 percent. Its trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations edged down 0.5 percent, while that with Japan plummeted by 11.2 percent.
PRO-TRADE ACTIONS
Confronted with the grim situation, the government has adopted a string of measures to boost trade.
The finance authority on June 1 slashed tariffs on consumer goods, including suits and sneakers, to benefit imports and promote domestic consumption.
Chinese policy makers also vowed in May to pursue a new competitive edge in foreign trade by encouraging high-tech, services and capital exports to offset the increasingly feeble goods trade.
In the latest move, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on June 6 inked an agreement with his Hungarian counterpart to jointly promote the Belt and Road Initiative in hopes of boosting trade and strengthening economic ties, not only between the two countries but all along the ancient trade routes.
SILVER LINING
It is not all bad news for Chinese exports.
In the country's eastern regions, where technical upgrades are being accelerated, an increasing number of manufacturers, even in "sunset sectors" such as textiles, are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.
Qian Yuebao, chairwoman of Jiangsu Menglan Group Co. Ltd., which provides bedding, is calm about the disappointing trade data.
"Cheap labor and intensive use of resources are not sustainable. We knew that many years ago," Qian told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Refusing to settle for low-end manufacturing, the company expanded investment more than 10 years ago to cover research and introduced advanced equipment to establish itself at home and abroad.
The businesswoman said that even in 2008, when the global financial crisis wreaked havoc, exports increased more than 20 percent year on year while many of her competitors suffered.
She said that automatic manufacturing equipment imported from Germany, Spain and Switzerland slashed labor costs by 80 percent and boosted productivity by five times.
