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China's combined export and import volume in 2012 still ranked behind that of the United States when using the same measurement standards, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on February 13.
The ministry expects the country's total international trade in goods to be $15.64 billion less than that of the United States according to the measurement adopted by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The announcement comes in response to a previous report that China, with its foreign trade amounting to $3.867 trillion in 2012, has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest goods trading nation.
The U.S. Commerce Department released two sets of figures for its international goods trading—$3.82 trillion (based on international balance of payments) and $3.882 trillion (based on the measurement that is similar to the WTO's measurement), said a MOFCOM official.
The WTO typically adopted the latter figure in its annual international trading report that is due to be released in late February or early March.
China's export and import volume increased 6.2 percent year on year to $3.867 trillion in 2012, according to the data issued last month by the General Administration of Customs.
In 2012, the Chinese Government for the first time allocated 200 million yuan ($32 million) to finance non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
With this fund, 377 social work projects and more than 120 training programs were carried out, with 17,700 people trained and 1.85 million directly benefited, according to the NGOs Administration under the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Apart from the Central Government's input, these projects involved a total investment of 320 million yuan ($51 million), said the administration.
The Chinese Government has rolled out measures to boost the development of social organizations and bring their roles more fully into play.
In 2011, a pilot project designed to simplify the registration process for social organizations was launched. Under the pilot, social organizations may directly register with civil affairs authorities. It was previously stipulated that such organizations should find an administrative sponsor to supervise their activities as a precondition for registration.
The State Council, China's cabinet, on February 7 issued a timetable for its program to upgrade fuel quality, with a strict standard to be promoted nationwide before 2017.
The country will issue the "fifth-phase" standard for automobile petrol, with sulphur content within 10 ppm (parts per million), before the end of the year with a grace period before the end of 2017, said a State Council statement.
Beijing is the only city in China to have adopted such a standard, equal to Europe's Euro V vehicle emissions cap of sulphur content below 10 ppm.
But the "fifth-phase" standard for automobile diesel, with sulphur content within 10 ppm, will come earlier—before June this year—with a grace period before the end of 2017, the statement said.
The "fourth-phase" standard for automobile petrol, namely stating no more than 50 ppm of sulphur content, has already been issued.
Based on this, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Standardization Administration will soon issue the "4th-phase" standard for automobile diesel with sulphur content within 50 ppm and the transitional time will expire at the end of 2014, according to the statement. | 
