In the first three quarters of this year, China’s foreign trade posted double-digit growth as imports and exports “remained sound and steady and witnessed positive changes” during the period, said China Customs.
Foreign trade volume stood at CNY20.29 trillion (US$3.064 trillion) in the first nine months of 2017, an increase of 16.6% year-on-year, according to customs statistics.
Exports increased by 12.4% to CNY11.16 trillion and imports increased by 22.3% to CNY9.13 trillion. Hence, the trade surplus shrank by 17.7% to CNY2.03 trillion during the period.
In September, China’s foreign trade totaled CNY2.46 trillion, an increase of 13.6% as against the preceding year’s level. Exports rose by 9% to CNY1.33 trillion, while imports increased by 19.5% to CNY1.13 trillion. The trade surplus therefore narrowed to CNY193 billion, down by 28%.
According to China Customs, overall, both volume and proportion of general trade have increased. In the first three quarters, normal trade rose by 18.1% to CNY11.49 trillion, taking up 56.6% of China’s total foreign trade, 0.7 percentage points higher than 2016.
China’s traditional markets have witnessed a full recovery in imports and exports, with countries along the “Belt and Road” registering rapid growth, said the agency.
In the first three quarters of the year, China’s exports to the EU, the U.S,. and Japan increased by 16.4%, 18.7%, and 14.9%, respectively, together accounting for 36.8% of China’s total import and export value. Over the same period, China’s imports and exports to Russia, Poland, and Kazakhstan increased by 27.7%, 24.8%, and 41.1% respectively.
Both volume and proportion of general trade from private enterprises have increased. From January to September, the imports and exports of private enterprises grew by 17.8% to CNY7.81 trillion, accounting for 38.5% of the total national figure, or 0.4 percentage points higher than in the previous year.
Exports by private enterprises increased by 14.7% to CNY5.23 trillion, accounting for 46.8% of the total export value, with the proportion up by 0.9 percentage points. Imports grew by 24.8% to 2.58 trillion.
Electro-mechanical products and traditional labor-intensive products remained the major export goods. In the first three quarters, exports of electro-mechanical products increased by 13% to CNY6.41 trillion, taking up 57.5% of the total export value. Exports of automobiles, ships, and mobile phones increased by 28.5%, 12.2%, and 10%, respectively.
Over the same period, exports of traditional labor-intensive products increased by 9.4% to CNY2.31 trillion, accounting for 20.7% of the total export value.
While import and export activities witnessed positive changes in the first three quarters of this year, the agency said prospects in the fourth quarter remain volatile.
“In the fourth quarter, unstable and uncertain factors will still affect the foreign trade environment, but new growth drivers are taking the place of the old ones and steady progress is being made in the structural adjustment.”
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