Foreign trade gains in May hard won  

Xining (CNS) -- China's import and export value hit US$343.58 billion in May, a bump up of 14.1 over last year and a new monthly record, customs statistics indicate. Exports in May were valued at US$334.11 billion, a 15.3 percent increase; while imports rose 12.7%, hitting US$162.44 billion.

The big picture is not so rosy, with the economic context of debt crises in the euro zone, the prospect of a currency on the verge of collapse, and the US economy in painfully slow recovery. So China's May import and export value was a hard won accomplishment in the greater international gloom.

It is worth noticing that the number of China's auto imports from January to May hit 510,000, up 31.5 percent.

"This great leap implies that China needs to further adjust its importing structure," said He Weiwen, a researcher from China Association of International Trade, referring to more emphasis being put on high-end manufacturing and high-end services.

The government had better pay attention to the content of imports, rather than simply encouraging imports, said Xia Youfu, on the faculty of the University of International Business and Economics. Xia said imports of raw materials and advanced equipment is more helpful to the domestic economy than preassembled products like autos and other popular consumer goods.