(Yicai) May 17 -- China's external trade figures came in as anticipated last month, but there are still risks and challenges that should not be neglected, a commerce ministry spokesman said.

International trade has been slowly recovering since the fourth quarter of last year, He Yadong said yesterday. This has to some extent steadied the confidence of foreign trade enterprises, with key traders seeing new orders improve for four consecutive months, he added. 

Trade returned to growth in April, climbing 4.4 percent from a year earlier to USD512.56 billion, according to data the General Administration of Customs released on May 9. Exports topped expectations to rise 1.5 percent to USD292.5 billion, while imports jumped 8.5 percent to USD220.1 billion.

And more than 80 percent of foreign trade companies attending this year's first round of the bi-annual China Import and Export Fair reported same or higher orders, He said, citing the findings of a recent ministry survey. Better known as the Canton Fair, the expo ran from April 15 through May 5.

Despite this, the existing risks and challenges cannot be ignored, He cautioned. Some countries are pursuing unilateralism and protectionism, which has boosted trade costs and risks while disturbing global supply chains, he said.

Faced with these uncertainties, China will drive high-level opening-up and actively foster new momentum in external trade, He said. It will also solve difficulties and problems among external trade companies in a targeted manner, helping them lower costs, increase efficiency, and enhance global competitiveness, he added.

International trade will grow this year, but the global demand trend is not very optimistic, Liang Mingzeng, head of the external trade research institute at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economics, told Yicai, citing a forecast by the World Trade Organization.

Preserving its share in global trade is crucial for China, Liang noted, adding that as long as its share remains stable, the country can sustain a certain level of overall demand.

China's foreign trade in goods rose 5.7 percent to CNY1.38 trillion (USD191 billion) in the four months ended April 30 from a year earlier, according to the GAC’s data. Imports and exports tallied CNY3.64 trillion, up 8 percent.

According to the WTO's earlier estimates, international merchandise trade will jump 2.6 percent this year, compared with a 1.2 percent fall last year. 

Editors: Xu Wei, Martin Kadiev