In the final months of 2009, China was set to overtake Germany as the world's top exporter, a reflection of the competitive edge of Chinese goods, said Zhong Shan, Vice Minister of Commerce, in a statement on December 27.

After taking a hit from the financial meltdown, China's exports were caught in a tight spot, though government stimulus provided some respite. Exports in the first 11 months of 2009 fell 18.8 percent year on year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

But export woes of other countries were even more severe, paving the way for China to win a larger piece of the shrinking global trade pie. Zhong expected China to account for 9 percent of all global exports in 2009, an increase from 8 percent in 2008.

A recent State Information Center report forecasts a rise in exports of about 6 percent in 2010, marking a turnaround from the slump in 2009.

Waving aside the optimism, however, Zhong said it is still too early to predict prospects for 2010 as trade protectionism still looms as a potential threat to the export market.

By November 3, 2009, China suffered 101 trade remedy investigations from 19 countries and regions involving nearly $11.7 billion in exports.

Domestic exporters now must upgrade their technologies and products in order to move up the value chain, Zhong said.