BEIJING - China's foreign trade dependence ratio dropped 3.1 percentage points to 47 percent in 2012, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Thursday.

The export dependence ratio declined 1.2 percentage points from 2011 to 24.9 percent, while the import dependence ratio fell 1.9 percentage points to 22.1 percent, according to GAC.

The foreign trade dependence ratio refers to the ratio of a given economy's foreign trade volume to its GDP. It measures the degree of dependence on foreign trade.

China's foreign trade dependence ratio rose sharply after it entered the World Trade Organization in 2001, hitting a record high of 67 percent in 2006. The ratio has declined since then.

But China's foreign trade dependence ratio still runs at a relatively high level, compared with ratios of about 30 percent in the US, Japan and Brazil.

China is the world's largest exporter and second-largest importer.