China’s foreign trade data for the first three quarters was released on the 14th. Despite the complex and severe external environment, there are still many remarkable aspects in the foreign trade “report card”.
Create two “firsts” in a row
According to official statistics, China’s total import and export value in the first three quarters was 32.33 trillion yuan (RMB, the same below), a year-on-year increase of 5.3%, which is the first time in the same period in history to exceed 32 trillion yuan. In terms of quarters, China’s total import and export value in the first, second and third quarters was 10.15 trillion yuan, 11 trillion yuan and 11.17 trillion yuan respectively, all exceeding 10 trillion yuan, which is also the first time in the same period in history.
At a time when global trade protectionism is intensifying, the growth momentum of major markets is weak, the debt burden is heavy, and uncertain and unstable factors are increasing, it is not easy for China’s foreign trade to record this data.
Wang Lingjun, deputy director of the General Administration of Customs of China, said that China’s import and export of goods has grown steadily, and the foreign trade structure has continued to optimize, which can be said to be a quantitative increase and quality improvement. With the coordinated efforts of policies, China’s economy will continue to be stable, upward, and better, and it has the conditions and confidence to achieve the goal of quality and quantity stability of foreign trade throughout the year.
Export market share increased
Lv Daliang, spokesman for the General Administration of Customs of China, said that according to preliminary estimates based on the latest data released by various economies, China’s overall export share of the global market has been steadily increasing. Among the major export products, from small furniture and home appliances to large ships and containers, the share of the global market has increased to varying degrees, and exports remain strong and resilient.
Lv Daliang revealed that the results of a recent survey conducted by the General Administration of Customs on more than 800 major export companies across the country showed that 69% of the companies reported that exports remained flat or increased in the fourth quarter. Overall, “we are still confident about exports in the fourth quarter.”
High-end equipment exports increased significantly
In the first three quarters, China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products were 11.03 trillion yuan, an increase of 8% year-on-year, accounting for 59.3% of China’s total exports in the same period. Among them, the export of high-end equipment increased by 43.4% year-on-year, the export of integrated circuits, automobiles, and household appliances increased by 22%, 22.5%, and 15.5% year-on-year respectively; the export of wind turbines and electric vehicles increased by 73.9% and 22% year-on-year respectively.
Wang Lingjun said that China recently exported the world’s largest production, storage and unloading platform, which is equivalent to the displacement of 5 aircraft carriers in terms of displacement, representing the highest level of global marine engineering equipment. In addition, a large number of smart home appliances such as smart sweeping robots that can sweep, wash and mop, and fully automatic coffee machines that can mix more than ten flavors by themselves are also popular among overseas customers.
Import scale rises quarter by quarter
In the first three quarters, China’s total import value was 13.71 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%, and the scale reached a historical high for the same period. From the quarterly trend, the import scale has risen quarter by quarter, and imports in each quarter have increased year-on-year.
Lu Daliang said that China’s imports in September increased by 0.7% year-on-year, of which coal, natural gas, and integrated circuit imports increased by 13%, 19% and 17% year-on-year, respectively, reflecting the continued recovery of domestic demand.
Previously, the official has clearly stated that it is necessary to “expand independent opening up, orderly expand the opening up of my country’s commodity market, service market, capital market, labor market, etc., and expand unilateral opening up to the least developed countries.” As China further expands its high-level opening up to the outside world, the import scale can be expected to “go to a higher level.”
Private enterprises are more dynamic
According to official data, the total import and export value of China’s private enterprises in the first three quarters was 17.78 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.4%, 4.1 percentage points higher than the national overall level, and the contribution rate to the overall foreign trade growth reached 93.8%.
The innovation strength of private enterprises has been further transformed into export momentum. In the first three quarters, the export of high-tech products of private enterprises increased by 14% year-on-year, accounting for half of China’s high-tech product exports. Among them, the export of private enterprises’ ships and marine engineering equipment increased by 94% year-on-year.
Private enterprises have always been the “shock troops” for expanding markets and grabbing orders. The increased vitality of private enterprises will provide support for the stable growth of China’s foreign trade.
Post time: Oct-18-2024