China's foreign trade maintained fast growth during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period (1996-2000), in spite of the negative impact of the Asian financial crisis.

Latest statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics show that total trade value topped 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars during the period, an increase of 74.9 percent compared to the previous five years.

Meanwhile, China was ranked as the world's ninth-largest foreign trade country in 1999, compared to its 11th position in 1995.

Local analysts pointed out that foreign trade had played an increasingly important role in China's national economy over the past five years, greatly contributing to the country's GDP growth,economic restructuring, fiscal revenue, and employment.

Official statistics indicate that the dependability of China's national economy on foreign trade rose from 40.2 percent in 1995 to 43.9 percent in 2000.

During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, China realized a surplus of 149.4 billion U.S. dollars, which led to a remarkable surge in the country's foreign exchange reserves. China had a forex reserve of 165.6 billion U.S. dollars at the end of 2000.

Although the foreign funds actually used decreased significantly in 1998 and 1999, as a result of the Asian financial crisis and severe fluctuations in the world capital market, foreign capital China attracted in the 1996-2000 period hit a record high of 210 billion U.S. dollars.

In the meantime, foreign investors also acquired more opportunities in China's market, since the country was gradually opening up its commerce, finance, insurance, foreign trade and tourism sectors. During the ninth five-year-plan period, 50 foreign banks and their branches, as well as 14 foreign-funded insurance companies, were given approval to conduct business in China.

While introducing foreign capital, China continued to extend its overseas investment. By the end of 2000, the number of its overseas enterprises had exceeded 6,000, with a total investment of over 10 billion U.S. dollars.

The last five years were also a key period for China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). To date, negotiations with 36 members of the WTO have been completed. China's accession to the world trade body has entered the final stage.