China Customs says clear slowdown in non-processing trade surplus

Export growth fell in June for a fourth consecutive month to 17.6 pct, down from 28.1 pct in May, while import growth slowed to 31.0 pct from the previous month's 40.0 pct.

The official China Securities Journal said Wednesday that the government will raise the export rebate on value-added tax paid by textile manufacturers to 13 pct from the current 11 pct and that on clothing to 15 pct from the current 11 pct.

Any move to increase the rebates paid out to exporters would mark a partial reversal of a government policy which had been moving away from supporting low margin businesses such as textiles.

But recent months have seen a pronounced shift in the government's attitude towards the thousands of firms concentrated in Guangdong province just north of Hong Kong and around the Yangtze River Delta surrounding Shanghai.

Premier Wen Jiabao, Li Keqiang, his rumored successor, and Chen Deming, the minister of commerce, have all been touring textile companies in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces over the week, warning of the impact of weakening global growth on the domestic economy and talking up the need to maintain stability.