BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade said Wednesday it will make moves to facilitate imports and exports in the coming three years.

The council said it would help about 100 countries and regions to promote up to 10,000 commodities in China, especially the imports of advanced technical equipment, key components and high-quality consumer goods.

"Expanding imports plays an important part in turning China into a trader of quality," said Feng Yaoxiang, departmental head of the council, at a monthly press conference.

Meanwhile, the council will organize delegations to go abroad to make collective purchases and hold meetings for entrepreneurs from both home and abroad.

It will also hold activities to recommend Chinese brands and services abroad, while soliciting foreign investments.

China earlier this month unveiled a number of landmark measures to be taken this year to significantly broaden market access, from significantly lowering import tariffs for vehicles to opening up the financial sector.

The country's foreign trade had become more balanced since the start of this year, with import growth outpacing exports and the trade surplus narrowing by 21.8 percent in the first quarter of this year.

China's exports rose 7.4 percent year-on-year in the first three months while imports grew 11.7 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of 326.18 billion yuan (about 51.85 billion U.S. dollars), according to the General Administration of Customs.

In the first quarter, total foreign trade volume expanded 9.4 percent to 6.75 trillion yuan from the same period last year.