Beijing will aim to stabilise the positive trend in external trade this year, the Government state-run news agency Xinhua reports.

Assistant Minister of Commerce Zhang Ji was quoted by Xinhua as saying the Government would implement an active import policy and expand the import of high-tech equipment and key components.

The government would also pay attention to the difficulties of trading companies, Mr Zhang said.

External trade was worth 24.33 trillion yuan (US$3.55 trillion) last year, a decrease of 0.9 percent in year-on-year terms, but the fourth quarter of last year saw a 3.8-percent increase in trade from the same period in 2015. In the first quarter of last year, trade shrank 8.1 percent year on year.