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Chinese export growth slowed in December, while imports rose. The latest economic data has been released this morning, during a press conference by customs officials.

For the details we're joined in the studio by Michelle Xing, Michelle.

Michelle: Thanks.That’s righte, exports in December slowed to 4.3 percent year on year, from November’s 12.7 percent. That was broadly inline with forecasts. Imports grew 8.3 percent, beating predictions and up from the previous month’s 5.3 percent... that led to a narrowing of the country’s trade surplus to 25 billion US dollars in December. In terms of value, December’s exports hit a record high, indicating that demand in developed economies remains¹ high.

Q2: Trade data for the whole of 2013 also came out, take us through it.

Michelle: Allright. For the whole of 2013, China’s total trade gained by 7.5 percent, missing the growth target of 8 percent for the second straight year, indicating weakening export competitiveness due to the appreciation² of the Chinese currency. Exports grew 7.9 percent year on year while imports grew 7.3 percent. In the meantime, trade surplus for 2013 reached close to 260 billion US dollars, the highest since the global financial crisis. Breaking it down to different regions, bilateral³ trade with the EU and the US was up 2.1 and 7.5 percent respectively, but trade with Japan fell by 5.1 percent.