11 February 2010 | Jake Kanter

Chinese exports rose 21 per cent in January, which state media said cemented the country’s position as the world’s largest exporter.

Figures on the website Xinhua showed that outgoing trade stood at $109.47 billion (£69.96 billion) last month, while imports grew 85.5 per cent to $95.31 billion (£60.91 billion).

The country’s trade surplus – a measurement showing the greater value of exports over imports – decreased 63.8 percent to $14.16 billion (£9.05 billion).

China announced it had overtaken Germany as the largest exporter in January, after reporting that total exports in 2009 reached $1.2 trillion.

Qiu Gaoqing, a senior financial analyst for the Bank of Communications, said: “We predict that China’s export sector has entered a stable recovery stage given the increasing strength of the global economy.”