The nation will seek to slow the exodus of processing trade operations, which have done much to boost China's foreign trade, Shen Danyang, spokesman with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), told a press conference in Beijing Tuesday.

Targeted policies should be used to encourage processing trade exporters to move to the central and western regions, he said. Coastal cities in East China have long been the center of this activity, but some companies are moving abroad as costs rise.

"We hope we can slow the relocation and keep them within China," said Shen, noting that tepid processing trade is a major reason for the downturn in the country's foreign trade.

Processing trade account for about 30 percent of China's total now, according to Shen.

Processing trade exports fell 8.2 percent year-on-year in April, declining for the 14th straight month, according to the MOFCOM.

Total exports rose 4.1 percent year-on-year in that month, down from 18.7 percent in March, custom data showed.

Shen noted some policies enacted by the State Council, China's cabinet, in early May.

These include policies dealing with land use and financial support to help processing companies move from coastal regions to inland areas. Government approval processes have also been streamlined.

"Those measures will not only have a positive impact on China's sluggish foreign trade, they also can make the central and western regions more attractive to foreign investors," Zhou Dewen, president of the Wenzhou Council for the Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, told the Global Times Tuesday.

In the first four months of this year, foreign direct investment in China's western regions reached $3.66 billion, up 36.2 percent year-on-year, the fastest growth among all regions, according to the MOFCOM.

Given the central government's encouragement, about 1,000 processing companies are expected to shift inland each year, said Zhou.

Zhou suggested that different regions should pursue localized policies to target various industries.