BEIJING -- The depreciation in the Japanese yen has greatly affected China's exports to the country, although Japan's quantitative easing measures are conducive to its domestic market recovery, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

China's currency the yuan strengthened 6.1 percent against the yen in April, while China's exports to Japan declined 1.2 percent year on year in the period, the ministry's spokesman Shen Danyang said at a press conference.

The yuan's rise has inflicted great impacts, mostly adversely, on Chinese exporters, especially regarding Sino-Japanese trade, Shen said.

The spokesman said that despite an improving overseas market, Chinese exporters, wary of the yuan's rapid appreciation, have shunned long-term orders in favor of short-term ones.

It has also led to a decrease in corporate profits, challenging the survival of export businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, Shen noted.