The first "China Express-Import Expo" train carrying exhibits for the 6th China International Import Expo arrived in Shanghai on Oct 11 all the way from Duisburg in Germany. The 70 standard boxes of exhibits it carried to Shanghai are worth more than €16 million ($16.82 million).

The 6th China International Import Expo, scheduled for Nov 5 to 10, is expected to inject new impetus into China's foreign trade which, despite the odds, maintained a healthy growth rate in the first three quarters of this year with its total value being 30.8 trillion yuan ($4.2 trillion). In quarter terms, the foreign trade volumes in the first, second, and third quarters were 9.72 trillion yuan, 10.29 trillion yuan, and 10.79 trillion yuan respectively, showing a rising graph.

Given that the world economy is yet to recover and global trade faces multiple problems, it's not easy for China's foreign trade to grow in double digits.

Many observers have said that the huge Chinese market and its long-standing industrial advantages have laid a solid foundation for the growth of foreign trade. In fact, China's imports have increased for eight consecutive months in year-on-year terms, with a cumulative increase of 2.6 percent in the first three quarters. As for exports, the strong export industries such as ships, construction machinery and home appliances have shown healthy growth.

Electric vehicles, and lithium and solar batteries have become China's new business card in foreign trade. In the first three quarters, the combined export value of the three products was 798.99 billion yuan, up 41.7 percent year-on-year. Perhaps this fact also played a role in prompting JP Morgan and other financial institutions to raise their growth forecast for China. The financial institutions know that the sustained recovery of the Chinese economy has been stimulating the demand for imported products as well as facilitating exports.

However, the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and other international organizations have expressed serious concern over the fragmentation of global trade, and the complex, even hostile external environment for China. With China's economy continuing to recover, the government has taken a series of policy measures that promise to boost both imports and exports. These moves all expedite the recovery.