Beijing - China's monthly exports dropped for the first time in seven years as a result of the global economic crisis, a newspaper report said Tuesday.

According to a report by the 21st Century Business Herald, exports dropped to a little more than 100 billion dollars, while imports dropped by a double-digit percentage point.

China's customs authorities are expected to release the official figures on Wednesday.

The slump has alarmed China's leaders, who asked the customs office to provide daily reports on the latest numbers, which they previously only reported every 10 days, the paper said.

Fan Gang, a prominent economy expert and adviser of the Chinese Central Bank told an economic forum in Beijing that exports had dropped in November.

"Industrial growth rates will be around 5 per cent and export growth will be negative," he was quoted as saying.

On Wednesday, a three-day annual economic planning conference attended by China's leadership ended in Beijing. The meeting focused on ways out of the global crisis.

China's efforts centre on a 455-trillion-yuan (586-million-dollar) stimulus package, 45 per cent of which will go into infrastructure projects such as the construction of roads, railways or airports. (dpa)