BEIJING -- China earns only a thin profit but, at the same time, a big trade surplus from the processing trade, a Chinese commerce official said Wednesday.

Jiang Yaoping, China's vice commerce minister, told a forum in Beijing that as a result of globalization, Chinese enterprises only make limited profits from assembling and processing products, while the rest of the profit is enjoyed globally.

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Jiang also stressed that China needs to maintain steady development in the processing trade, since this is China's role in the international division of labor which is determined by the country's current economic status and development.

Processing trade has created some 40 million jobs in China, as well as made a significant contribution to China's trade surplus, Jiang said.

China' s trade surplus stood at $170.4 billion in the first 11 months of 2010, while the processing trade surplus hit $291.1 billion during the same period.

Jiang said China will keep policies stable to avoid any drastic changes in the sector, and at the same time work to promote the upgrading of the sector and expand imports.