MORE than 60 percent of Chinese mainland trading companies plan to boost trade with emerging markets over the next five years amid global economic uncertainties, a survey showed yesterday.

This focus on emerging markets may boost China's trade to grow at an annual pace that's almost twice as fast as the global average through 2016, and the country could replace the United States as the world's biggest trading nation by 2016, HSBC Holdings Plc said in a report.

Facing shrinking demand in developed countries, 62 percent of the respondents in the survey, which covered 700 trading companies on the mainland, said they would bolster business with Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. Also, 41.7 percent said they would expand ties with other developing countries, including Egypt, Indonesia and Vietnam.

"The demand from traditional consumer markets in the West is expected to slow as the evolving European debt crisis threatens the global outlook," HSBC said. "China will stimulate growth with fiscal stimulus and an acceleration in infrastructure projects, raising its imports of commodities from Latin America and the Middle East."

But more than half of the respondents said they would continue trading with Europe and the US.

China overtook Germany as the world's largest exporter in 2009. To sustain growth and lift domestic demand, China has shifted to increase imports.

China's exports and imports fell in January amid collapsing external demand and a slowing domestic economy.