Trade protectionism against China increasing

China is likely to become the main victim of rising trade protectionism against the backdrop of the worsening financial crisis, a top government think-tank cautioned.

"The nation is likely to be the main target of trade protectionism, which will worsen the environment for the nation's exporters," according to a report by the Development Research Center of the State Council.

The nation's export sector has enjoyed brisk growth since its entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 and its trade surplus started to balloon since then. This helped the economy to accumulate $1.95 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world. The growing trade surplus, which hit 295.46 billion yuan in 2008, however, led to trade protectionism measures being adopted by other countries.