Data released by the General Administration of Customs on June 9 showed that in the first five months of this year, China’s total import and export value of goods trade was 20.68 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.3%, continuing a stable growth trend.
Among them, exports were 11.91 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%; imports were 8.77 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%.
In the month of May, China’s foreign trade import and export reached 4.45 trillion yuan, which has exceeded 4 trillion yuan for three consecutive months. The year-on-year growth rate further expanded to 16.9%, of which exports and imports increased by 13.8% and 21.5% respectively.
Lu Daliang, director of the Statistics and Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs, said that since the beginning of this year, under the guidance of the head of state’s diplomatic strategy, China has actively deepened pragmatic cooperation with global economic and trade partners and injected stability into international economic and trade operations.
Since this year, in the face of a complex and severe external environment, China’s foreign trade has withstood multiple pressures. While its scale has grown steadily, its structure has continued to be optimized and vitality has continued to burst out.
From the perspective of trading partners, the diversified market layout has achieved remarkable results.
In the first five months, China’s imports and exports to ASEAN, the European Union, and Africa increased by 16.6%, 10.3%, and 18.2% respectively year-on-year; its imports and exports to countries jointly building the “Belt and Road” were 10.57 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%.
This year is APEC’s “Year of China”. In the first five months, China’s import and export with other APEC economies amounted to 12.31 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.4%. The import and export scale accounted for nearly 60% of the total foreign trade. Asia-Pacific economic and trade cooperation continues to be active.
From the perspective of key commodities, the export structure continues to be upgraded to high-end and smart products.
In the first five months, China exported 7.58 trillion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, a year-on-year increase of 18.4%, accounting for more than 60% of China’s overall exports. The export of green products such as lithium batteries and wind turbines increased by about 40%.
From the perspective of foreign trade entities, private enterprises continue to play the main role.
In the first five months, the import and export volume of private enterprises was 11.81 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%.
Zhejiang Kenmei Building Materials Group Co., Ltd., which has been deeply involved in the field of home building materials for 30 years, has focused on the “Belt and Road” infrastructure market in recent years and launched green and environmentally friendly building materials products to meet the needs of jointly building national construction projects.
The relevant person in charge of the company said that the company not only adapts its products to the market, but also builds a localized service team to provide efficient after-sales support for customers in the joint construction countries. It is this precise layout that has allowed the company to win recognition from the “Belt and Road” market and its export share continues to grow.
From the import side, with the steady recovery of domestic market demand, domestic demand potential continues to be released. In the first five months, imports increased by 20.5% year-on-year. Among them, imports in May increased by 21.5%, a year-on-year increase of more than 20% for three consecutive months.
In terms of structure, in the first five months, China imported 3.54 trillion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, a year-on-year increase of 25.3%; and imported 618.16 billion yuan of agricultural products, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%.
What is particularly noteworthy is that since May, China has fully implemented the “zero tariff” initiative for African countries that have diplomatic relations with it. The policy dividends have been quickly transmitted to the front line of trade. China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has ushered in a new milestone. In the first five months, China’s imports and exports from African countries were 1.14 trillion yuan, exceeding 1 trillion yuan for the first time in the same period in history, with a year-on-year increase of 18.2%.
In May, China imported 95.13 billion yuan from Africa, a year-on-year increase of 15% and an increase for nine consecutive months.
Lu Daliang said that in May, the growth rate of China’s imports of high-quality specialty products from Africa further accelerated, with month-on-month growth of fruits, aquatic products, etc. exceeding 30%.
Wan Zhe, a researcher at Beijing Normal University’s “Belt and Road” Institute, said that the pulling effect of “zero tariffs” on Africa is continuing to be released, significantly lowering the barriers for African products to enter the Chinese market and releasing strong trade momentum.
Kenyan avocado is a typical representative.
At Shanghai Pudong Airport, the customs has set up a special channel for avocados, and the customs clearance time has been shortened from the original 7 to 14 days to only 2 to 3 days, significantly reducing the customs clearance cost of avocados exported to China.
Looking to the future, Wan Zhe said that the “zero tariff” policy will continue to deepen the linkage with the Economic Partnership Agreement for Common Development. China will continue to provide more convenience for African products to be exported to China. African high-quality agricultural products and specialty commodities will enter the Chinese market more smoothly, benefiting the majority of African farmers, small and medium-sized enterprises and exporters.
With the continued efforts to stabilize foreign trade policies, the continuous improvement of the level of opening up to the outside world, and the deepening of cooperation with emerging markets, China’s foreign trade is expected to continue its stable and positive trend, injecting more certainty and stability into global economy and trade.
