China’s total import and export value of goods in the first five months increased by 6.3% year-on-year

China’s foreign trade report for the first five months was released recently, with the total value of imports and exports of goods increasing by 6.3% year-on-year. Among them, exports increased by 6.1% and imports increased by 6.4%. In May, imports and exports increased by 8.6% year-on-year, exports increased by 11.2%, and imports increased by 5.2%.

“This year, my country’s goods trade has continued the upward trend since the fourth quarter of last year, the foreign trade structure has been continuously optimized, the international market share has been stable and improved, the foreign trade stabilization policy has continued to work, and the confidence and vitality of enterprises have increased.” Zhao Ping, spokesperson of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, introduced that the recent survey of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade showed that 81.6% of foreign trade enterprises predicted that exports in the first half of the year would be better or flat, and 65.1% of the surveyed enterprises would increase or flatten new orders compared with the previous quarter.

Behind the positive data, there are objective factors of improved external demand. The World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and others predict that the global economic growth outlook will improve in 2024; but more importantly, China’s foreign trade has formed a strong resilience in the long-term tempering, which can smooth out cyclical fluctuations to a certain extent and always occupy a place in the ups and downs and turbulent global market.

Shenzhen Customs data show that in the first five months, the total import and export value of Shenzhen, Guangdong was 1.81 trillion yuan, accounting for about 1/10 of the national foreign trade market, an increase of 34.3% year-on-year. Among them, exports were 1.16 trillion yuan, an increase of 37.2%. Achieving a growth of more than 30% on the basis of a super-large-scale base is not a matter of overnight success, but the joint support of the main body, industry, format, market and other aspects.

Specific analysis shows that in the first five months, the import and export of private enterprises in Shenzhen increased by 51.7%, and the import and export of Shenzhen with its largest trading partner ASEAN increased by 55.8%. While the export of optical, electrical and lithium products increased rapidly, the export of textiles and clothing increased by 77.9%, the export of furniture increased by 141.5%, and the export of mobile phones, computers and household appliances increased by 20% in total. The export of traditional advantageous products rebounded and improved.

From Shenzhen to the whole country, after the overseas market demand for consumer electronics, clothing and furniture has recovered, my country’s related categories of products immediately ushered in a substantial increase in exports. This fully reflects the advantages of my country’s complete industrial chain and supply chain, which can respond to changes in overseas market demand in the first time and meet the diversified needs of the global market.

With the advantages of traditional industries being stable and the momentum of emerging industries accelerating, my country’s international competitiveness in foreign trade is increasing day by day. my country has basically achieved full industrial chain coverage in high-end manufacturing fields such as automobiles and ships. In the first quarter, the three major indicators of my country’s shipbuilding industry, namely the volume of completed projects, the number of orders on hand and the number of new orders received, grew simultaneously, continuing to lead the world.

Private enterprises have become the main force in foreign trade. Local governments have introduced a package of policies to stimulate the vitality of private enterprises in accordance with local conditions. “From food, clothing, housing and transportation to machinery and equipment, private enterprises can be seen. Private enterprises have made important contributions to the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain.” A relevant person in charge of Nanjing Customs introduced that in the first five months, Jiangsu private enterprises imported and exported 1.02 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.6%, driving the province’s import and export growth rate by 7.2 percentage points.

New formats such as cross-border e-commerce are developing innovatively. Under the guidance of Hangzhou Customs, Zhejiang Hangzhou Zhongyi Industrial Co., Ltd. handled the paperless registration of overseas warehouse enterprises, carried out overseas warehouse export business, and attracted more overseas customers. In the first five months, the company exported goods worth 65 million yuan through cross-border e-commerce overseas warehouses, a year-on-year increase of 22.5%. Since the beginning of this year, Hangzhou Customs has deeply understood the actual needs and problems of enterprises in the customs area for cross-border e-commerce exports, provided convenience for enterprises to handle overseas warehouse registration and customs declaration, and made cross-border e-commerce overseas warehouses a “new station” for domestic products to go overseas. In the first five months, Hangzhou enterprises exported 635 million yuan through the cross-border e-commerce B2B (business-to-business) model, an increase of more than 50% year-on-year.

The Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and other nine departments recently jointly issued the “Opinions on Expanding Cross-border E-commerce Exports and Promoting Overseas Warehouse Construction”, which will rely on my country’s 165 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, combined with the industrial endowments and location advantages of various regions, to drive more enterprises to use cross-border e-commerce to participate in international trade.

Diversified market layout has made positive progress. In June this year, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was fully effective for one year, and the economic and trade cooperation between ASEAN and my country has become closer. In the first five months, the total trade value between my country and ASEAN reached 2.77 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.8%, accounting for 15.8% of my country’s total foreign trade. Since the beginning of this year, the China-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement has officially come into effect, the sixth round of negotiations on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 has made positive progress, and the fifth round of negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement with Honduras has been held. my country has actively expanded its economic and trade cooperation circle.

Looking forward to the second half of the year, although the international trade environment remains complex and severe, with the accelerated cultivation of new quality productivity, the comprehensive effectiveness of the foreign trade stabilization policy has been further released, and the foundation for maintaining stability and improving the quality of foreign trade throughout the year is solid.