General

According to the latest customs data released by the General Administration of Customs on March 7, in the first two months of this year, the total value of China's foreign trade imports and exports was 895.72 billion US dollars, down 8.3% year on year; The export was 506.3 billion yuan, down 6.8% year on year, 3.1 percentage points lower than that in December; The import was 389.42 billion yuan, down 10.2% year on year, 2.7 percentage points higher than that in December. In the first two months, the trade surplus was 116.89 billion US dollars.

According to customs data, in the first two months of this year, China's foreign trade import and export value was 6.18 trillion yuan, down 0.8% year on year; Exports reached 3.5 trillion yuan, up 0.9% year on year; Import was 2.68 trillion yuan, down 2.9% year on year.

Exports to Europe and the United States declined

From a regional perspective, imports and exports to ASEAN increased, while exports to the EU and the United States declined.

According to customs data, in the first two months, ASEAN was China's largest trading partner. The total value of trade between China and ASEAN was 951.93 billion yuan, up 9.6%, accounting for 15.4% of China's total foreign trade. Among them, exports to ASEAN reached 570 billion yuan, up 17.9%; Import from ASEAN reached 381.93 billion yuan, down 0.9%; The trade surplus with ASEAN was 188.7 billion yuan, an increase of 91.6%.

The EU is China's second largest trading partner. According to customs data, the total trade value between China and the EU in the first two months was 851.09 billion yuan, down 2.6%, accounting for 13.8%. Among them, exports to the EU amounted to 552.83 billion yuan, down 5%; The import from the EU was 298.26 billion yuan, up 2.1%; The trade surplus with the EU was 254.57 billion yuan, down 12.1%.

The United States is China's third largest trading partner. In the first two months, China's total trade value with the United States was 702.98 billion yuan, down 10.6%, or 11.4%. Among them, exports to the United States amounted to 494.11 billion yuan, down 15.2%; The import from the United States was 208.87 billion yuan, up 2.8%; The trade surplus with the United States was 285.24 billion yuan, down 24.9%.

Japan is China's fourth largest trading partner. In the first two months, the total trade value between China and Japan was 344.92 billion yuan, down 5.7%, accounting for 5.6%. Among them, exports to Japan amounted to 183.56 billion yuan, up 6.7%; The import from Japan was 161.36 billion yuan, down 16.8%; The trade surplus with Japan was 22.2 billion yuan, compared with 21.84 billion yuan in the same period last year.

Over the same period, China's imports and exports to countries along the "the Belt and Road" totaled 2.12 trillion yuan, up 10.1%. Customs data showed that the export was 1.25 trillion yuan, up 15.2%; Imports reached 869.39 billion yuan, up 3.6%.

In terms of commodities, the largest drop was in automatic data processing equipment and its components, down 32.1% year on year; The second was LCD flat panel display module, down 27.5% year on year; The amount of integrated circuit fell 25.8% year on year. The export value of refined oil rose against the trend, with a year-on-year increase of 101.8%, the largest increase; The second was automobile (including chassis), with a year-on-year increase of 65.2%, and fertilizer increased by 29.6%.

March or continue to be under pressure

Analysts said that the contraction of demand in Europe and the United States remained an important factor in suppressing exports. In addition, the high base in the same period last year also slowed down the export growth this year to some extent. In the first two months of 2022, China's export value increased by 16.3% year-on-year.

From the perspective of fundamentals, the PMI of the manufacturing industry in the United States and Europe in the first two months is still hovering below the dividing line between prosperity and decline. On the whole, the prosperity of the overseas economy continues to decline and the external demand further weakens.

The decline in shipping prices can also reflect the decline in global trade. According to the latest world container index released by international logistics consulting company Drury, as of March 2, the freight of 40-foot containers from Shanghai to Los Angeles was $1948, down 82% year on year; The freight of the route from Shanghai to Rotterdam, the Netherlands was 1593 US dollars, down 88% year on year.

Zheng Houcheng, director of Yingda Securities Research Institute, said that in March, China's exports were still under pressure from both volume and price, and the year-on-year growth rate continued to decline on the basis of the previous two months.