BEIJING -- China's imports and exports are expected to see steady expansion and improved quality this year, with the support of a series of favorable conditions, a report by the Ministry of Commerce showed.

The country's steady economic recovery, increasing advantage in foreign trade and thriving new business forms will provide strong support to its imports and exports, according to the report on China's foreign trade.

China's main economic indicators have recovered steadily and the fundamentals of its long-term economic development remain unchanged, said the report, citing steady growth in gross domestic product, industrial output, retail sales and fixed-asset investment, among others.

The country has also sped up innovations in foreign trade, seeing progress in building platforms, cultivating market entities, integrating business models and optimizing business environment, said the report.

New forms of trade saw continuous development. In 2020, 46 new integrated pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce were set up, and trials of market purchase trade increased by 17 to reach 31. More than 1,800 overseas warehouses became a new type of foreign trade infrastructure to support cross-border e-commerce and expand the international market.

Since last year, the Chinese government has introduced a series of policies to stabilize foreign trade, covering fields including export tax rebate, export credit insurance, processing trade and export products for domestic sales. At the local level, measures have been taken to help enterprises tide over difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report also stressed the increased resilience of foreign trade firms faced with challenges, noting that the firms accelerated digital transformation with the support of big data, B2B platforms and online exhibitions. They also kept increasing investment in research and development and made improvements in branding, service and quality control.

China's foreign trade growth still faces a complex and severe situation as the pandemic spreads across the world, the MOC said. The ministry will pay close attention to the difficulties and challenges faced by foreign trade firms, such as raw material prices, exchange rate fluctuations and maritime freight and manage to solve related problems.