Containers pile up at Waigaoqiao Port in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. [Photo/Xinhua]

China is likely to face complicated challenges in foreign trade during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period. Internationally, the unbalanced recovery situation and low-speed economic growth will continue, and the global foreign trade pattern will undergo great changes intensifying competition.

China's foreign trade faces two major challenges globally. More developing countries will compete with China in the middle- and low-end product market, and developed countries will make greater efforts to maintain and enhance their strength in the middle- and high-end product industries.

With the Chinese economy embracing the "new normal", its slowing growth is also weakening its advantages in foreign trade.

But China has a sound industrial system and a fast-growing service sector to cope with these challenges. The country is also improving its supply and value chains to make the cooperation between upstream and downstream industries more efficient. Besides, it's focusing on the rapid development of its investment and "go global" strategy.

In this sense, some new characteristics mark China's foreign trade.

First, the growth rate of its export will gradually slow down. Second, the quality of its exports will gradually increase and so will the price. China's trade growth rate is expected to be higher than global level, and China's share in world trade will continuously increase.

Third, China's new advantage in foreign trade will be in technology, brand, quality and service, rather than low prices. China should further optimize foreign trade structure. Foreign trade development should be more coordinated with national economic growth, environmental resource protection, industrial structure adjustment and regional development strategy.