The central bank's governor said the extent of the slump in China's trade has been overestimated because of the meltdown in commodity prices last year.
Addressing a media conference in Beijing on Saturday, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, said, "When you look at import data, you should examine not only the value but also the volume."
He was responding to a query about market concerns over the slump in trade value. "In volume terms, most of China's imports last year, such as crude, grain, soybean, still grew."
Last year, China's exports dropped 1.8 percent in renminbi terms, and imports slumped 13.2 percent.
Latest customs data show China's exports in February slumped 20.6 percent year-on-year in renminbi terms. In January, exports fell 6.6 percent and imports fell 8 percent year-on-year.
Last year also saw an unprecedented fall in global commodity prices. For instance, crude oil prices plummeted more than 30 percent.
Exports could be also affected by price movements because many Chinese processors who export rely on imports for their raw materials. When the prices of raw materials fall, the prices of export items also tend to fall, but margin levels do not necessarily slide, according to Zhou.
"Last year, China's exports as a share of the world exports actually rose a bit. China's exports are still competitive. We see no need to rush to use devaluation (of the Chinese currency renminbi) to spur exports," Zhou said.
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