China's foreign trade surplus was approximately 84 billion U.S. dollars from Jan. to July, down 20 percent year on year, and the year 2010 is expected to see a small trade surplus, said Commerce Minister Chen Deming on Tuesday.

Chen made the projection at the ongoing World Investment Forum that runs from Sept. 7 to 9 in southeast China's coastal city of Xiamen.

China has seen a trade surplus in recent years, but with a decreasing margin, and the trade surplus takes up a very small proportion of the GDP, noted Chen.

"China's foreign trade policy aims to stabilize exports and increase imports, which can boost China's economy and also bring positive impacts to neighboring countries," said Chen.

Customs statistics show that China's import and export value in the first seven months reached 1,617 billion U.S. dollars, with exports worth 850.5 billion U.S. dollars, up 35.6 percent, and imports at 766.6 billion U.S. dollars, up by 47.2 percent.

China's trade surplus in 2009 was more than 190 billion U.S. dollars, down 34.4 percent from the 290 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.

The World Investment Forum is the global meeting on investment and development issues organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Held every two years, the forum aims to strengthen international cooperation in the interest of promoting international investment and its contribution to economic growth and development.