13. Analysis of China’s Foreign Trade Situation in 2014, and Its Prospects in 2015—Also a Discussion on the Priority in Foreign Development in the Transition Period

The recovery of the world’s economy was full of twists and turns in 2014, and world trade grew at a rate that was almost equivalent to that of the world’s economy in recent years; that is to say, global trade and economy were both in a rare slump, indicating the difficult situation that world economy and trade faced during the period of adjustment. In China, the slow growth of foreign trade showed a relative resilience; the structural transformation of exports had improved year after year; the quantity of imports grew faster than the amount of imports and the terms of trade improved to some extent. China’s foreign trade grew by roughly 4.8% in 2014. In 2015, the outlook for the world’s economy and trade is bleak: geopolitical unrest may lead to damage in the European economy and cause a recession in Russia; risks for Japan may increase; the US economy remains uncertain; China’s economy continues to slow down and its foreign trade is expected to rise by roughly 6.6%.