Strong driving force of China’s foreign trade

According to data released by China’s General Administration of Customs on May 9, China’s exports in April totaled 20.2 trillion Chinese yuan, an increase of 16.8% over the previous year, with a growth rate of 8.5%. Export data in April again “beat expectations” on the back of strong growth in March. Major news agency Associated Press said China’s exports showed more surprisingly strong momentum despite weak global demand.

A few days ago, the 133rd China Import-Export Fair (Canton Fair) concluded. The total exhibition area, the number of offline exhibitors and the cumulative number of visitors all set a new record for this Canton Fair. With the popularity of the Canton Fair, you can feel the temperature of China’s foreign trade. China’s total import-export value in the first four months of this year was 133.2 trillion Chinese yuan, an increase of 5.8% over the same period in 2022. Out of them exports have increased by 10.6% and imports by 0.02%.

According to the World Trade Organization’s forecast, the volume of global trade in goods this year will increase by only 1%, which is about 2.5 percent less than last year. External demand remains weak against a backdrop of high global inflation and sluggish growth in major economies. But why is China’s foreign trade “unexpectedly” gaining a strong momentum? This is inseparable from the Chinese government’s continued pursuit of high-level opening up and the introduction of measures to stabilize foreign trade.

Since the beginning of this year, the country’s various levels of local governments have made every effort to promote the development of foreign trade, and Chinese companies have gradually made overseas trips to win orders. In late April, the Chinese government put in place a series of policies and measures to promote the full recovery of domestic offline exhibitions, stimulate the direct docking of automobile companies and shipping companies, and expand sales channels through new means. It has opened up new development spaces for foreign trade enterprises.

According to different markets, many Chinese export companies have devoted to research, development and design, creating unique product advantages. Today, the “three new” products such as electric passenger vehicles, lithium batteries and solar batteries have strongly driven China’s exports. Despite the lack of orders in Europe and America, some Chinese companies are actively exploring the Southeast Asian market and other emerging markets, which further promotes the steady progress of China’s foreign trade. Today new opportunities are constantly coming to the fore. On June 2, RCEP will take full effect for 15 member countries, which will bring more benefits to Chinese foreign trade enterprises “going abroad”.

Recently, the banking industry in Europe and the US has faced persistent risks and the US and Europe are still raising interest rates, so the downward pressure on the global economy has increased further. Against this background, the development of China’s foreign trade is still facing more external pressure. But the current demand of China’s major trading partners is relatively stable, the export sector and commodity structure are more reasonable, and the vitality of business entities has improved. With the development of domestic exhibitions, convenient personnel exchange and the continuous deepening of business innovation, China’s foreign trade will gain greater momentum.

(Credits-China Media Group, Beijing)