BEIJING -- Chinese vice premier Wang Yang on Thursday stressed the need to improve policies to push foreign trade growth to a new level.

"The slowdown in foreign trade growth is a reflection of China's new normal economic expansion, but our competitive edge still remains and we have the foundation for steady trade growth for a long term," Wang said at a national trade tele-conference on Thursday.

Wang pledged to improve the export tax rebate mechanism and expand the scale and coverage of the export insurance system.

Further efforts should be made to tap the import potential, with more imports of advanced technology equipments, key parts and consumption goods, he added.

Other measures include speeding up service trade, clearing up export and import fees, and encouraging businesses to participate in overseas infrastructure projects.

China's foreign trade only increased 3.4 percent in 2014, significantly lower than the 7.6 percent rise in 2013 and the 7.5 percent target.