China's foreign trade growth fell far short of its target last year, but figures for December beat expectations and a new round of government policies are expected to help lift the world's second - largest economy's trade performance this year.

This improvement is anticipated because the government has taken another round of decisive measures to upgrade the industrial structure and increase trade with more emerging markets through new routes, a customs official said on Tuesday.

China's foreign trade rose by 3.4 percent year-on-year in 2014, said Zheng Yuesheng, spokesman for the General Administration of Customs.