Against the backdrop of heightened uncertainty in global trade, as one of the most dynamic and open regions in China, the foreign trade scale of the Yangtze River Delta region in the first five months of this year hit a record high for the same period in history, maintaining growth for 15 consecutive months.
According to customs statistics, in the first five months of this year, the total import and export value of the Yangtze River Delta region reached 7.82 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.2%. The scale hit a record high for the same period in history, accounting for 37.8% of the country’s total import and export value.
This is also the 15th consecutive month that the region has maintained positive foreign trade growth.
In terms of exports, the Yangtze River Delta’s exports in the first five months were 4.92 trillion yuan, accounting for 41.3% of the country’s total exports.
As the leader of the Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai achieved a total import and export of 2.1 trillion yuan during the same period, an increase of 17.9%.
In May, Shanghai’s import and export increased by 11.5% year-on-year, maintaining a growth trend for 16 consecutive months; exports increased by 26.7%, and imports increased by 0.6%.
Industry experts analyze that the high growth of foreign trade in the Yangtze River Delta is driven by several major factors: First, on the demand side, global green transformation and the expansion of the AI industry have driven the concentrated delivery of high-end manufacturing orders such as new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, and computing chips, forming a core growth driver; second, on the market side, relying on RCEP and the market layout along the “Belt and Road”, emerging markets such as ASEAN and the Middle East have significantly offset the weakening demand in Europe and the United States.
soft, the market structure is more diversified; third, on the subject side of foreign trade, private enterprises have become the main force in foreign trade growth, and cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses have expanded overseas channels; fourth, on the trade mode side, general trade, processing trade, and online trade have achieved coordinated development; fifth, on the export process side, the integration of the Yangtze River Delta has promoted cost reduction and efficiency increase in logistics systems such as customs clearance and river-sea combined transportation. Adding to the seasonal demand for overseas stocking in the third quarter, imports and exports have increased simultaneously.
The market “changes lanes”: the EU and emerging markets become the key to growth
The demand fluctuations in the traditional European and American markets are being compensated by the rapid growth of emerging markets.
According to customs statistics, the Yangtze River Delta’s imports and exports to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 17.5%, ASEAN by 25.5%, Latin America and Africa also increased by 9.3% and 14% respectively.
Shanghai’s structural changes are quite representative.
Relevant customs data shows that Shanghai’s trade with major global economies maintained steady growth in May.
In addition to the import and export to the EU of 69.57 billion yuan, an increase of 2.6%, the import and export to ASEAN reached 70.11 billion yuan, exceeding the EU, an increase of 26.4%, of which the growth rate to Vietnam was as high as 110.4%.
In addition, Shanghai has recorded significant growth in Latin American countries such as Chile, Colombia, and Argentina, with growth rates reaching 77.7%, 1.1 times, and 69.1% respectively.
Zhejiang’s “market change” is equally clear.
In the first five months, Zhejiang’s total imports and exports to countries co-building the “Belt and Road” were 1.35 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.0%, accounting for 56.6% of Zhejiang’s total imports and exports; imports and exports to ASEAN, Latin America, and Africa were 418.73 billion yuan and 24 billion respectively.
6.32 billion yuan and 205.50 billion yuan, an increase of 24.3%, 4.7%, and 15.4% respectively. The total contribution to Zhejiang’s import and export growth reached 86.3%; the import and export to the EU was 362.11 billion yuan, an increase of 5.8%.
In the first five months, Jiangsu Province’s imports and exports to countries co-building the “Belt and Road” were 1.49 trillion yuan, an increase of 28.8%, driving the province’s imports and exports to grow by 14.3 percentage points.
Among them, imports and exports to ASEAN were 542.74 billion yuan, an increase of 27.8%, and imports and exports to the EU were 378.02 billion yuan during the same period, an increase of 17.2%.
As for Anhui, the EU is its largest trading partner, with a total trade value of 69.95 billion yuan in the first five months, an increase of nearly 40%, followed by ASEAN, with a year-on-year increase of 31.8%.
During the same period, Anhui’s imports and exports to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative amounted to 262.2 billion yuan, contributing half of the province’s total foreign trade value. Other RCEP member states also contributed 24.2% of the total.
This means that enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta are deeply integrating supply chain layout and market development, and ASEAN is simultaneously transforming from a “production capacity undertaking place” in the past into a core “consumer market.”
AI “stuck position”: from the “three new things” to the explosion of computing power product exports
If the “three new things” (electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products) are the “basic” of the Yangtze River Delta’s foreign trade, then AI-related industries are becoming new explosive growth poles.
From a basic perspective, in the first five months, Zhejiang’s “three new items” exports reached 75.94 billion yuan, an increase of 51.7%, of which electric vehicle exports were 31.3 billion yuan, a surge of 91.8%; Ningbo’s “three new items” exports alone reached 28.51 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.4 times.
The export of mechanical and electrical products in Jiangsu Province increased by 28%, driving the province’s export growth by 19.3 percentage points, and its proportion in the province’s exports increased by 5.3 percentage points from the same period last year to 74.1%, of which the export of “three new items” increased by 26%.
Anhui’s mechanical and electrical product exports reached 266.12 billion yuan, an increase of 46.4%. Among them, 800,000 automobile exports ranked first in the country. The total exports of the “three new products” exceeded 60 billion yuan, more than doubled year-on-year, accounting for 18% of the province’s exports.
In May this year, Shanghai’s “three new” products exported a total of 21.94 billion yuan, an increase of 61.6%, driving overall export growth by 5.3 percentage points, of which electric vehicles increased by 69.1%, lithium batteries increased by 12.7%, and photovoltaic products increased by 2.4 times.
The more “futuristic” increment comes from upstream and downstream products driven by the AI industry.
In the month of May, Shanghai’s import and export of AI-related products such as integrated circuits, storage components, and automatic data processing equipment spare parts increased by 87.9%, driving the city’s foreign trade growth by 10.5 percentage points. Among them, storage components increased by 1.7 times, and automatic data processing equipment parts and accessories surged by 9 times.
During the same period, the export of industrial robots increased by 75.7%. In the first five months, Shanghai’s exports of intelligent bionic robots were 110 million yuan, accounting for one-fifth of the country’s exports during the same period.
Jiangsu also benefited from this. In the first five months, Jiangsu’s exports of automatic data processing equipment and parts increased by 62.3%. Among them, Wuxi, which has many leaders in the integrated circuit industry, saw its exports of integrated circuits increase by 50.7% in the first four months of this year, and its exports of computer parts and accessories increased by 4.4 times.
Industry analysis points out that the current expansion of computing power centers and intelligent replacement of terminals in various countries around the world have created long-term rigid demand. The complete AI industry chain in the Yangtze River Delta region has sufficient cost and delivery advantages, and will have strong growth resilience in the long term.
Regional synergy: Differentiated division of labor creates growth resonance
The growth rates and highlights of the three provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta have their own emphasis, but the overall situation shows the resonance characteristics of technological upgrading and market diversification.
Judging from the scale of import and export in the first five months, Jiangsu ranked first. In addition to the export share of mechanical and electrical products rising to 74.1%, its processing trade increased by 39.1%. At the same time, foreign-invested enterprises significantly contributed.
In Zhejiang, which ranked second, private enterprises contributed more than half, market procurement and bonded logistics grew rapidly, and emerging markets contributed more than 80%.
The highlight of Shanghai, in addition to the diversified development of European, American and emerging markets, is the significant promotion of AI-related products. The “three new products” and robot exports have become business cards.
Although Anhui’s foreign trade scale ranks behind the Yangtze River Delta region, its growth rate leads the Yangtze River Delta and central regions. The high growth rate of 32.9% is partly due to its ranking first in the country in automobile export volume.
Taken together, the driving force behind the continuous growth of foreign trade in the Yangtze River Delta has undergone qualitative changes.
In the past, the world relied on traditional industries to dominate the world, but now the “three new products” and AI computing power-related products have taken up the banner. The “technical content” of the industrial chain also determines the flexibility of foreign trade growth.
The Yangtze River Delta can become the main beneficiary of this AI wave precisely because of its cluster advantages in the integrated circuit industry. Shanghai, Wuxi, and Suzhou all have related industrial layouts. This “hard technology” industrial foundation allows the computing power demand dividend brought by AI to be converted into increased exports on the spot.
From a market perspective, the rapid growth of emerging markets is not the output of low-end products, but the manifestation of comprehensive competitiveness accompanied by technology export. The Yangtze River Delta is accelerating its evolution from the “world factory” to the “global technology supplier”.
It is worth noting that there is a certain gap between the current performance of some foreign trade entities and the high-growth data. In the first five months, the national labor density products dropped by 3.1%. The labor density industry in the Yangtze River Delta is also under great pressure, and the pace of subsequent industrial gradient transfer and upgrading still needs to be accelerated.
