General

In December 2022, the port logistics index was 84.49, up 2.31% month on month. In January 2023, the port cargo throughput continued to grow; The popularity of cross-border indexes for categories such as customized clothing, industrial laser machinery, and new energy charging piles has not decreased. In 2022, the export of a cross-border e-commerce platform increased by 22%, 33%, and 184% respectively. These leading indicators and segmented data show that China's foreign trade has strong growth momentum and development vitality.

——Port logistics index rebounded, foreign trade grew steadily, showing resilience

At the beginning of the new year, the fully automated container terminal at Qingdao Port, Shandong Port, is bustling, with several 10000 ton cargo ships such as the "Paris Express" and the "UAE Huashi" berthing for loading and unloading operations.

"Our terminal operations have had a good start, with container throughput increasing by 25.6% year-on-year in the first 10 days of January and berth utilization increasing by 9.2% year-on-year," said Wang Jisheng, Deputy Manager of Qingdao Port's Fully Automated Terminal Operations Department.

Port logistics is the most intuitive "window" that reflects the vitality of foreign trade. The busy port shows the vitality of foreign trade development.

According to the "Port Logistics Index" monitored by the National Information Center in conjunction with Fukuda Zhike, the port logistics index in December was 84.49, up 2.31% month on month. According to the observation report of Huacheng Import and Export Data, the cargo throughput of the port has gradually recovered. Since December, the cargo throughput has decreased first and then increased. After hitting the bottom on December 25, it has rebounded rapidly. On January 13, the monitoring port completed 30.73 million tons of cargo throughput, an increase of 27.6% compared to the low point on December 25.

"These high-frequency indicators related to foreign trade have increased on a month-on-month basis, indicating that China's trade has grown steadily driven by domestic policies, demonstrating strong resilience." said Yang Daoling, Director and Researcher of the Big Data Analysis Division of the National Information Center's Big Data Development Department.

The annual report card released recently fully demonstrates the hard power of China's foreign trade. On January 13, according to the Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report, in 2022, China's total import and export value broke through the RMB 40 trillion tariff for the first time, reaching 42.07 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.7%. On the basis of the high base in 2021, China continued to maintain stable growth, and its scale reached a new record high, maintaining its status as the world's first trading country in goods for six consecutive years.

"Despite the triple pressures of shrinking demand, supply shocks, and weakening expectations, China's foreign trade imports and exports still exhibit strong resilience." Lv Daliang, a spokesman for the General Administration of Customs, said that despite many difficulties and challenges, China's economy is expected to rebound overall this year, providing solid support for stabilizing the scale and optimizing the structure of foreign trade.

——Multi-route freight index recovers and international market diversification steadily advances

The container freight index is also a leading indicator for observing the dynamics and vitality of foreign trade.

According to the latest data, some import routes have taken the lead in warming up. The "Import Container Freight Index" of China published by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange shows that the import container freight index of the Australia New Zealand route has maintained an upward trend in 2022. Although there was a brief decline in late November, it bottomed out and rebounded in mid December, reaching 2224.12 as of January 11, an increase of about 8 percentage points from the lower point. On January 14th, the freight index of imported containers on the Mediterranean route was 1665.50, up 6.2% from the previous period; The South American route was quoted at 2499.13, up 1.7% from the previous period.

The "the Belt and Road" economic and trade cooperation also maintained a good momentum. According to the data of Ningbo Shipping Exchange, the maritime Silk Road trade index of countries along the "the Belt and Road" in November 2022 was 256.63, up 4.6% year on year and 5.6% month on month.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, China's imports and exports to ASEAN, the European Union, and the United States increased by 15%, 5.6%, and 3.7% in 2022, respectively. Over the same period, China's import and export to countries along the "the Belt and Road" increased by 19.4%, accounting for 32.9% of China's total foreign trade, an increase of 3.2 percentage points; Import and export to other RCEP member countries increased by 7.5%.

"It is precisely because we have always adhered to the principle of 'multi point flowering', and diversified international markets have become the most powerful guarantee for the company's performance growth." The person in charge of Doosan Construction Machinery (China) Co., Ltd. told reporters that as a manufacturing enterprise specializing in the production of hydraulic excavators, loaders, and other construction machinery, the company is actively exploring diversified international markets. Currently, its products have been sold to many countries and regions such as Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America.

On January 9th, a reporter saw at the company's production base in Yantai Development Zone, Shandong Province, that hundreds of workers were working at full power to speed up the production of hydraulic excavators. The sound of metal impact, mechanical cutting, and traveling crane operation was constantly heard, and the production workshop was busy. Around the Spring Festival, 100 hydraulic excavators produced by this company will be delivered offline in succession. After completing the customs clearance and supervision procedures at Yantai Customs, they will be shipped to the European market.

Pang Chaoran, an associate researcher at the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that China's foreign trade enterprises are actively exploring diversified international markets, and the recognition of Chinese goods in more countries has increased. At the same time, export destinations and import sources can be flexibly converted in multiple markets. The overall development resilience of China's foreign trade has greatly enhanced. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

——The popularity of cross-border e-commerce has not decreased, new growth points have gathered new momentum for development

Looking through the foreign trade transcripts of recent years, the rapid growth of cross-border e-commerce has become a highlight. On the basis of nearly tenfold growth in five years, it maintained rapid growth in 2022. According to preliminary customs estimates, China's cross-border e-commerce import and export in 2022 will reach 2.11 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.8%.

"In recent years, cross-border e-commerce has developed rapidly, and the country has successively introduced relevant support policies. The advantages and potential of cross-border e-commerce are expected to be further unleashed," said Lv Daliang.

From the statistical data of cross-border e-commerce platforms, we can more intuitively feel the positive momentum of the development of this new foreign trade format. At Alibaba International Station, the buyer sends an inquiry to the seller called "business opportunity". "Since July 2022, the platform has found that overall high-quality overseas business opportunities have increased by 31%, which also reflects the market side's confidence in China's foreign trade is warming." The head of Alibaba International Station told Economic Information Daily.

Recently, Alibaba International Station released a cross-border index for January 2023, indicating that China has a high demand for flexible customized clothing, especially for cold-proof clothing exports, which increased by 29% year-on-year. In addition, the growth rate of high-quality business opportunities in the new energy industry on this platform has reached 92%. From the perspective of transactions, in 2022, the number of global buyers of customized clothing increased by 48% year-on-year, with a transaction growth of 22%. The global popular search index for new energy charging piles has risen year by year since 2017, and has shown explosive growth since 2020. In 2022, the number of global buyers of new energy charging piles increased 2.5 times year-on-year, and the transaction growth was 184%. Industrial laser machinery is also hot with new energy. In 2022, the number of global buyers of industrial laser machinery on this platform increased by 51.1% year-on-year, and the transaction increased by 33%.

New growth points have converged into a strong new driving force for China's foreign trade growth. According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, China's solar battery and lithium battery exports increased by 67.8% and 86.7% respectively in 2022. According to data released by the China Automobile Industry Association, the export of new energy vehicles in 2022 was 679000, a 1.2 fold increase compared to the same period last year.

Pang Chaoran pointed out that based on the development foundation of China's manufacturing industry with complete categories and supporting facilities, China's product competitiveness has been continuously enhanced, and it can more flexibly serve various needs of external markets. More and more overseas markets highly recognize "Made in China". The continuous evolution and development of new products, new models, and new features not only helps to continue to stabilize, consolidate, and enhance China's export market share, but also provides new growth points for China's industry to expand international market space and better serve the high-quality development of China's economy.