BEIJING: China's 2011 trade surplus was around $160 billion, a modest decline from $183.1 billion in 2010, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on Thursday.
Chen said in a statement on the commerce ministry's website that the trade surplus share of China's gross domestic product (GDP) dropped to about 2 percent in 2011 from 3.1 percent in 2010.
The United States has urged Beijing to keep China's trade surplus share of GDP below 4 percent, although that proposal has been rejected by the Chinese government.
"China has achieved balanced and stable development of foreign trade in 2011," Chen said.
He added that China's exports and imports totalled $3.6 trillion last year, an increase of 20 percent from a year ago. But Chen did not give a breakdown of exports and imports.
China's customs administration is scheduled to publish trade data for December and all of 2011 early next week.
Chinese officials and analysts say the country's massive export sector will face a challenging 2012 due to a weak global economy caused by the Europe debt crisis.
China, the world's largest exporter and the second largest importer, has targeted annual 10 percent growth in its trade turnover through 2015.
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