"The financial crisis has not bottomed out yet, which may reduce the country's international trade markedly," Zhong said at a forum held on the sideline of the 19th East China Fair that opened here Sunday.
"In addition, trade protectionism of some countries might escalate. Therefore, China's foreign trade in 2009 will face a severe situation," he said.
He pledged that the commerce ministry would further improve polices on the country's exporters to reduce their tax burden and boost confidence.
The five-day fair, with an exhibition area of about 100,000 square meters and 5,312 booths, attracted more than 3,500 businesses from home and overseas, organizers said.
The fair features garments, textiles, decorations and daily consumer goods, as well as domestic brand-name products.
Due to the impact of the financial crisis, the number of businesses people to attend the fair might be less than in previous sessions, said Song Jiusu, general manager of the a textile company in the eastern Zhejiang Province.
"But I still have confidence with the support of the government in key industries," he said.
The annual trade fair attracted about 20,000 overseas business people and 30,000 domestic business people during its 2008 session, which reported export deals worth 3.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 3.52 percent more than that in 2007.
China's foreign trade topped 2.56 trillion U.S. dollars in value in 2008, but the year-on-year growth rate dropped below 20 percent for the first time in seven years, according to the General Administration of Customs.
The total value was up 17.8 percent compared with 2007, but the growth rate was down 5.7 percentage points.
The trade surplus stood at 295.47 billion U.S. dollars, up 12.5percent, according to the administration.
