Quality, not scale, highlight of trade data

China's trade in goods hit 31.54 trillion yuan ($4.59 trillion) last year, up 3.4 percent year-on-year, of which 2.92 trillion yuan was surplus, expanding 25.4 percent, the General Administration of Customs announced on Tuesday.

That will probably help China retain its status as the world's largest trader in goods, in light of data till October provided by the World Trade Organization.

Given the country is still endeavoring to optimize its growth model and economic structure, and the worsening trade frictions with the US last year, this is a remarkable, hard-earned result, both in terms of its size and the rate of expansion－it was the fastest growth rate among all the major trading economies－highlighting once again the resilience of the Chinese economy.