Shanghai ranks first in total volume, and Shenzhen has the highest growth rate, with the top three cities in foreign trade growing together in the first eight months

On September 18th, Shanghai and Shenzhen announced their import and export data for the first eight months on the same day. In addition, Beijing, which released data first last week, all three top foreign trade cities have reported sustained growth. In terms of total import and export volume, Shanghai continues to rank first, with Beijing and Shenzhen ranking second and third respectively, with a gap of only 20 billion yuan between them.

It is worth noting that there is a significant difference in growth rates among the three. Shenzhen ranked first with a year-on-year growth rate of 8.1%, while Shanghai and Beijing ranked second and third with year-on-year growth rates of 3.6% and 3%, respectively.

According to detailed data analysis by the customs, the reporter from First Financial News found that private enterprises account for a relatively large proportion of imports and exports and have a strong growth momentum, which is the main reason why Shenzhen has achieved a significant advantage in the overall growth rate of imports and exports.

The top three foreign trade companies are all on a growth track

On September 12th, Beijing Customs announced that the import and export of Beijing in the first eight months of this year amounted to 2.39 trillion yuan, an increase of 3% compared to the same period last year. Among them, exports amounted to 39.101 billion yuan, an increase of 9.3%; Imports reached 2 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.8%.

According to data released by Shanghai Customs on the 18th, the total import and export value of Shanghai in the first 8 months was 2.79 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.6% compared to the same period last year. Among them, exports amounted to 1.14 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%; Imports reached 1.65 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.8%.

According to statistics from Shenzhen Customs, the cumulative import and export of Shenzhen during the same period was 2.37 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.1%. Among them, exports reached 1.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.4%; Imports amounted to 872.66 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.1%.

According to data previously released by the General Administration of Customs, China's total import and export value in the first 8 months was 27.08 trillion yuan, a slight decrease of 0.1% year-on-year.

From the perspective of trading partners, the European Union, the United States, and ASEAN are among the top four common trading partners among the top three foreign trade powers.

In the first eight months, the top five trading partners in the Beijing region were the European Union, the United States, ASEAN, Australia, and Brazil, with imports and exports of 263.82 billion yuan, 184.8 billion yuan, 164.47 billion yuan, 134.53 billion yuan, and 123.25 billion yuan, respectively, an increase of 4.8%, unchanged, a decrease of 4.3%, an increase of 13.9%, and an increase of 44.7%.

During the same period, Shanghai's imports and exports to the European Union amounted to 570.78 billion yuan, an increase of 7.1%; The imports and exports to ASEAN and the United States were 354.99 billion yuan and 319.2 billion yuan, respectively, a decrease of 2.7% and 5.2%; The import and export to Japan and Australia were 257.86 billion yuan and 153.48 billion yuan respectively, an increase of 2.5% and 26.5%.

In the first 8 months, Shenzhen's imports and exports to Hong Kong, ASEAN, the European Union, and the United States were 36568 billion yuan, 363.08 billion yuan, 267.78 billion yuan, and 264.71 billion yuan, respectively, an increase of 5%, 9%, 13.3%, and 13.4%, accounting for more than half of the total, reaching 53.2%.

From the perspective of product categories, automobiles and electromechanical products have become the top three import and export giants.

In the first 8 months, Shanghai's export of mechanical and electrical products reached 786.75 billion yuan, an increase of 8.6%, accounting for 69.1% of the city's total export value. The export performance of electric passenger vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells was impressive, with exports increasing by 98%, 90%, and 30% respectively, driving the overall export growth rate by 5.1 percentage points.

In August, the import of crude oil and automobiles in Beijing rebounded, with 27.752 million tons of imported crude oil, an increase of 36.7%, and an import value of 116.64 billion yuan, an increase of 5.6%; Imported 43000 vehicles, an increase of 2.7%, with an import value of 15.07 billion yuan, an increase of 15.9%.

In the first eight months, Shenzhen's export of mechanical and electrical products reached 1.09 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.8%, accounting for 73.1% of the total export value during the same period; Imported mechanical and electrical products amounted to 672.23 billion yuan, a decrease of 10.8%, accounting for 77% of the total import value during the same period.

From the perspective of enterprise nature, foreign enterprises, state-owned enterprises, and private enterprises respectively dominate the import and export of Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen, becoming the most significant difference among the top three.

According to statistics from Shanghai Customs, in the first 8 months, the import and export of foreign-invested enterprises in Shanghai reached 1.65 trillion yuan, a decrease of 0.3%, accounting for nearly 60%; The import and export of private enterprises reached 859.75 billion yuan, an increase of 9.6%, accounting for more than 30% of the total import and export value of the city; The import and export of state-owned enterprises reached 277.81 billion yuan, an increase of 9.7%, accounting for 10%;

In the Beijing region, during the same period, state-owned enterprises imported and exported 1.78 trillion yuan, an increase of 4%, accounting for 74.3% of the total regional import and export value; The import and export of private enterprises reached 244.54 billion yuan, an increase of 18.3%, accounting for 10.2% of the total regional import and export value.

In contrast, private enterprises are the main driving force for the growth of Shenzhen's foreign trade. In the first 8 months, the import and export of private enterprises in Shenzhen reached 1.55 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.6%, accounting for 65.3%, driving the growth of Shenzhen's foreign trade by 9.5 percentage points during the same period; Foreign invested enterprises and state-owned enterprises respectively imported and exported 680.52 billion yuan and 140.31 billion yuan, a decrease of 1% and 15.2%, accounting for 28.7% and 5.9%.

Experience of Shenzhen Daxing Private Economy

The private economy has always been a "trump card" of Shenzhen's economy, accounting for about 60% of GDP. Last week, the "2023 Top 500 Private Enterprises in China" list released by the All China Federation of Industry and Commerce showed that Shenzhen had a total of 27 companies on the list, with the top 10 accounting for 4 places. 24 companies from Beijing and 18 companies from Shanghai were shortlisted, respectively.

Shenzhen has always spared no effort in supporting the development of private enterprises. This year, shortly after the issuance of the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Promoting the Development and Growth of the Private Economy," Shenzhen announced the "Several Measures to Promote the Growth, Optimization, and Strength of the Private Economy," proposing 20 practical measures.

The understanding of "effective market+promising government" is constantly deepening in Shenzhen, from enterprises seeking markets without seeking the mayor to the government seeking markets for enterprises. Since the beginning of this year, the Shenzhen government has actively supported the demand for private enterprises to supplement their supply chains, promoting cross-border supply, and carrying out actions such as "Ten Thousand Cadres Assisting Enterprises" and "I Find Markets for Enterprises" throughout the city.

From August 28th to September 6th, Shenzhen held 9 consecutive "stabilizing foreign trade" policy lectures, conducting "big visits, big discussions, and big bottom-up" actions in various districts, and providing policy gift packages to foreign trade enterprises. More than 1000 key foreign trade enterprises and cross-border e-commerce enterprises in the city participated.

The private economy is also a key focus of strong support for development in other parts of the country, but due to different resource endowments and development priorities, it presents different effects in the dimension of local economic structure. Taking the top three cities in foreign trade as an example, unlike Shenzhen, which is a "strong private economy" city, Beijing and Shanghai respectively excel in state-owned enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises. This is also related to the different missions entrusted by the state to the three cities on the road of "crossing the river by feeling the stones".

Data shows that in 2022, Shanghai's private economy achieved an added value of 1.21 trillion yuan, accounting for 27.1% of the city's GDP; Private enterprises in Shanghai paid 466.64 billion yuan in taxes throughout the year, accounting for 32.7% of the city's total.

Since the beginning of this year, Shanghai has introduced multiple policies to support the private economy, such as holding a conference to promote high-quality development of the private economy, issuing "20 articles" to promote private investment, establishing a "service package" system for key enterprises in Shanghai, enhancing the comprehensive service capabilities of enterprises in high-level "going out", increasing financial support for technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises in Shanghai, and continuously promoting service mechanisms such as "government banks and enterprises", "public security and legal departments", and "spring rain nurturing seedlings".

Beijing systematically plans from policies, services, mechanisms, and other aspects to promote the further development of the private economy. In late July, Beijing held a symposium for private entrepreneurs, clarifying that they will conscientiously implement the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Promoting the Development and Growth of the Private Economy", firmly implement the "Two Unswerving Principles", leverage the advantages of the capital, implement the new development concept, serve and integrate into the new development pattern, optimize the development environment of the private economy, fully stimulate the vitality of the private economy, and comprehensively promote high-quality development of the capital.