BEIJING - China's foreign trade target will be an arduous and strenuous one next year as global economic condition grows more complicated, a senior commerce official said here Tuesday.

Vice Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said at a foreign trade conference that China's foreign trade is facing new difficulties and problems, including weakening external demand, rising trade frictions, fierce competitions, and increasing production costs for exporters.

China's foreign trade growth has relied too much on markets in developed countries and exporters in the coastal regions, which could hamper its sustainable growth, said Zhong.

To maintain growth in exports and imports, China should target at important emerging markets with large population, rich resources and low market shares while stabilizing shares in traditional markets, he said.

Meanwhile, more efforts should be made to encourage foreign trade business in China's less developed central and western regions and help exporters in the eastern provinces grow more competitive in the global market, Zhong added.

Growth in China's foreign trade slowed to 17.6 percent year on year in November this year, which totalled $334.4 billion, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced Saturday. The figure was down 4 percentage points from the October level.