China's foreign trade is expected to decline 16 percent in 2009 from a year ago, to about US$2.2 trillion, the Minister of Commerce said on Thursday.

The annual retail sales is likely to rise more than 15 percent to 12.5 trillion yuan (US$1.84 trillion), minister Chen Deming told a national meeting on commerce.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2009)