BEIJING, May 6 -- Weak external demand is set to pull down China's export growth to 10 percent after the 25.7 percent jump in 2007, a research unit under the Ministry of Commerce said.

    The country's 2008 trade surplus may also drop to 200 billion U.S. dollars from a record 262 billion dollars last year, Li Yushi, director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, was quoted by yesterday's Shanghai Securities News as saying.

    China's trade surplus fell 10.6 percent year on year to 41.4 billion dollars in the first quarter this year, the first time the quarterly figure headed southwards

    The nation's export growth slowed to 21.4 percent in the first three months from 27.8 percent in the same period last year, mainly because of weaker demand from the United States.

    Chinese exporters will face tougher internal and external environments this year, which will add pressure on their operations, the research agency said in a report, according to the newspaper.

    However, the country's export growth in future may be helped by robust exports of electromechanical products, according to Liu Haiquan, vice director at the comprehensive department under the ministry.

    Exports of electromechanical products, which jumped 23.1 percent in the first quarter of this year from the same period a year ago, have a big potential to grow even more, Liu was quoted as saying.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)