The figure was 10 billion dollars higher than a trade surplus estimate issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, China's economic planning agency, two weeks ago.

The General Administration of Customs said China's foreign trade in 2008 was expected to reach 2.55 trillion dollars, up 18 percent from 2007, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Because of the worsening financial crisis and ensuing global recession, China's foreign trade fell nine percent last November year-on-year, the first monthly decline since October 2001," Xinhua cited customs officials as saying.

The trade surplus for the first 11 months of the year was 256 billion dollars, the customs authority said this month.

A surplus this year in excess of 290 billion dollars will mean it has increased more than 11-fold since 2003, reflecting the spectacular rise of China as an exporting powerhouse.

China's monthly trade surplus has reached record highs in recent months -- hitting 40.1 billion dollars in November -- but mainly because imports have dropped precipitously as the nation's own economy cools.

China's growth is being severely affected by the global economic crisis, especially as overseas markets for the nation's exports begin to dry up.

The World Bank has forecast that the Chinese economy will grow by just 7.5 percent in 2009, a level not seen in 19 years.

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