E-commerce has played an increasingly important role for Chinese exporters in maintaining business growth, said an official with the Ministry of Commerce.

Trade through electronic platforms in China grew from 1.5 trillion yuan ($240 billion) in 2006 to 5.9 trillion yuan in 2011, according to Nie Linhai, deputy commercial counselor of the ministry's Department of Electronic Commerce and Informatization.

"In the current global economic situation, e-commerce trade will help reduce costs for Chinese manufacturers. And a growing number of domestic exporters have realized the importance of doing trade through electronic platforms," Nie said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of an e-commerce forum on Tuesday in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, Nie said the outlook for China's exports is still over shadowed by the global economic downturn.

"The decreasing demand from traditional overseas buyers, combined with rising challenges from neighboring manufacturing countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, have forced domestic exporters to look for new modes of trade," Nie said.

The country's foreign trade, which rose by 5.8 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of this year, outperformed major developed and emerging economies, according to Nie.

"Chinese exporters are encouraged to conduct more international trade through e-commerce platforms, which has proved an efficient international practice," Nie added.

On Tuesday, six third-party e-commerce companies signed strategic partnership agreements with the department of foreign trade and economic cooperation of Guangdong - which contributes about one-fourth of China's foreign trade - to help local exporters find business opportunities through e-commerce platforms.

Meanwhile, e-commerce companies have vowed to issue more efficient measures to help Chinese exporters clinch orders with overseas buyers.

Cai Hongyu, deputy general manager of Made-in-China.com, a Nanjing-based third-party e-commerce company, said online trade has become an efficient way for Guangdong-based high-tech companies to maintain stable growth.

Exports of Guangdong's high-tech products reached $154 billion in the first three quarters this year, up 6.8 percent compared from the same period last year, according to customs.

"A growing number of hi-tech companies in Guangdong have become our clients. And we believe that products with high added value will be popular in online trading," he said.

The company has established seven branches in Guangdong to help exporters in the Pearl River Delta conduct online trade with overseas buyers.