The outlook for China’s foreign trade is not favorable in the first quarter of the year amid sluggish global growth， especially among major trade partners such as the EU， the U.S. and Japan， Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang said at a press conference on Feb. 16.

Shen said external demand waned after global economic growth slowed， weighing on the expansion of China’s exports.

China also faces obstacles in expanding imports because of slowing domestic growth and export restrictions in the EU and U.S.， Shen said.

“Keeping proactive fiscal policy ‘both necessary and possible’”

It is both necessary and possible for China to maintain a proactive fiscal policy this year， Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren said on Feb. 1.

In a signed article published in the Qiushi Journal under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China， Xie said that implementing a proactive fiscal policy was a significant decision as the country deals with a changing economic environment.

“There are many favorable conditions for the further growth of China’s economy in 2012，” Xie said， citing that China is stepping up the pace of industrialization， urbanization and agricultural modernization.