2.1% year-on-year growth! News on Five Characteristics of China's Foreign Trade Import and Export in the First Half of the Year | year-on-year | China
This morning, the State Council Information Office held a press conference, where Lv Daliang, spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs and Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department, introduced the import and export situation in the first half of 2023. According to customs statistics, the total import and export value of China's goods trade in the first half of the year was 20.1 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%. Among them, exports reached 11.46 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%; Imports amounted to 8.64 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.1%. Specifically, there are five main characteristics:
One is that the scale of foreign trade is steadily advancing. In the first half of the year, China's foreign trade import and export scale exceeded 20 trillion yuan for the first time in history. Among them, the first and second quarters reached 9.76 trillion and 10.34 trillion yuan respectively, achieving positive growth year-on-year. From a month on month perspective, import and export in the second quarter increased by 6% compared to the first quarter, and both May and June saw a month on month increase of 1.2%.
Secondly, the import and export scale of private enterprises continues to grow. In the first half of the year, the import and export of private enterprises in China reached 10.59 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.9%, accounting for 52.7% of the total import and export value, a year-on-year increase of 3.3 percentage points. During the same period, foreign-invested enterprises imported and exported 6.16 trillion yuan, while state-owned enterprises imported and exported 3.29 trillion yuan, accounting for 30.7% and 16.4% of the total import and export value, respectively.
Third, the import and export growth rate of the "the Belt and Road" is significantly higher than the overall growth rate. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports to ASEAN, the largest trading partner, amounted to 3.08 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%, accounting for 15.3% of the total import and export value; Import and export to the European Union reached 2.75 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.9%, accounting for 13.7%; Import and export to the United States amounted to 2.25 trillion yuan, a decrease of 8.4%, accounting for 11.2%. Over the same period, China's import and export to countries along the "the Belt and Road" increased by 9.8%, 7.7 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate, accounting for 34.3%, 2.4 percentage points higher than the previous year; Import and export to other RCEP members increased by 1.5%.
Fourthly, the proportion of exports of mechanical and electrical products has increased. In the first half of the year, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 6.66 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%, accounting for 58.2% of the total export value, a year-on-year increase of 1.4 percentage points; Among them, the export of electrical equipment, automobiles and their spare parts, and general machinery and equipment reached 636.06 billion, 621.19 billion, and 2004.4 billion yuan, respectively, with an increase of 27.7%, 58.5%, and 12.2%. During the same period, the export of labor-intensive products reached 1.97 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.04%; Among them, clothing and clothing accessories, plastic products, and shoes and boots were exported at 516.94 billion, 343.42 billion, and 172.93 billion yuan, respectively, with an increase of 0.7%, 3.2%, and 0.4%.
Fifth, the import growth rate of bulk commodities and consumer goods is relatively fast. In the first half of the year, the import volume of bulk commodities such as energy, minerals, and grain in China increased by 17.1% year-on-year. Among them, imported energy products such as crude oil, natural gas, and coal reached 561 million tons, an increase of 33.2%; Imports of metal ores such as iron and aluminum reached 710 million tons, an increase of 8.3%. During the same period, imported consumer goods amounted to 974.84 billion yuan, an increase of 6.6%; Among them, meat and edible aquatic products increased by 9.5% and 30% respectively.