The foreign trade volume of Guangdong Province, an economic power house in south China, is expected to top 420 billion U.S. dollars this year, a local trade official said on Tuesday.

Since China's accession to the World Trade Organization, Guangdong's import and export value registered an annual growth of 50 billion dollars or 60 billion dollars in the past three years, said Liang Yaowen, director of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.

According to its long-term development plan, Guangdong's export is to reach 360 billion U.S. dollars by 2010, with an annual growth rate of 10 percent. The province's import will reach 320 billion U.S. dollars by 2010, with an annual growth rate of 11 percent, Liang said.

To reach the goals, Guangdong needs to take measures to boost trade in services, solve trade disputes, optimize the existing import and export structures and explore new trade patterns, Liang said.

Efforts should also be made to sharpen the competitiveness of export enterprises, especially technological innovation, and foster more private businesses to do foreign trade, Liang said.

Source: Xinhua