China's foreign trade is projected to grow 15 percent next year, according to a report released by the China Institute for WTO Studies on Friday.

The report forecasts imports to increase by 15 percent and exports up 13 percent.

With the external demand improving and the global economic recovery gaining momentum, "the declining trend of China's exports would come to an end next year," the report says.

The government stimulus package would boost imports through enhancing domestic demand, while the growing competitiveness of Chinese enterprises in the international market would increase exports, said Zhang Hanlin, head of the institute based in the University of International Business and Economics.

Net exports would contribute 0.3 percent to China's GDP growth next year, said Zhang, compared with a minus 4.4 percent this year as predicted by the World Bank in a recent report.

In the first 11 months this year, China's imports and exports totaled US$1.96 trillion, down 17.5 percent compared with the corresponding period last year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Exports dropped 1.2 percent year on year in November, but were up 2.6 percent from October, the fifth consecutive monthly increase. And imports rose 26.7 percent from year on year.

However, the China Institute for WTO Studies report also warns of rising protectionism against Chinese products in 2010.

Faced with worsening unemployment situation and shrinking market share, some countries tended to make China a scapegoat, said Zhang. "China will suffer from more trade frictions in the years to come."

The report says, in the first nine months this year, 19 countries has launched 88 trade remedy investigations against China, involving US$10 billion, a year-on-year rise of 125 percent.

China suffered 14 trade remedy investigations from the United States, involving US$5.84 billion, or 639 percent more than that of the corresponding period last year.

Some countries might resort to new remedy measures which are often in disguised forms but with more destructive effects, Zhang said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2009)