BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- China will keep its foreign trade policies stable this year as it's facing a severer foreign trade situation, deputy minister of commerce Zhong Shan said Monday.

Zhong said the country will encounter bigger challenges due to uncertainties clouding the world economy, withering demand and harsher competition.

"China will keep its foreign policies stable and step up relevant new policies," Zhong said at a foreign trade work conference held in the city of Nanchang in southeastern Jiangxi province

Zhong said the country will also optimize the domestic and overseas environment for foreign trade and accelerate foreign trade restructuring to improve the quality and efficiency of trade.

China's annual trade surplus in 2011 narrowed 14.5 percent year-on-year to 155.14 billion U.S. dollars, down from 295.47 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, 196.07 billion U.S. dollars in 2009, and 183.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2010, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.