General

According to customs data, from January to February this year, China's total import and export value was 6.18 trillion yuan. According to the analysis of the Ministry of Commerce, customs data shows that in the first two months, China's foreign trade has overcome the challenge of weak external demand, with the total import and export volume of goods remaining above 6 trillion yuan, the second highest value in history during the same period. Under the guidance and support of stable foreign trade policies, local foreign trade achieved a stable start in the first two months.

Frequent highlights of foreign trade in multiple provinces and cities

Too busy, too busy, I've been working overtime in the past few days, and the company's production schedule has reached the middle of the year! "In the workshop of Jiangsu Lizhen Technology (Kunshan) Co., Ltd., machines are running at full speed, and employees wearing work clothes are fighting in various production areas, vigorously promoting the production of various electronic products. Customs data shows that from January to February this year, the company achieved a 200% growth in order volume and sales, setting the best record for the same period in history. At present, the company's production line is operating at full capacity, and the production capacity has returned to its peak state during the peak season. In response to the surge in order volume, the company is accelerating equipment debugging and upgrading new production lines. Based on years of investment in scientific research and market layout, this year is expected to continue last year's good performance and strive to exceed the annual output value target of 100 billion yuan.

At Yiwu International Trade City, foreign merchants who come to purchase Chinese goods can be seen everywhere. Since March, the daily average passenger flow of Yiwu International Trade City has exceeded 200000 people, of which more than 1600 foreign businessmen have entered the market on a daily basis, a year-on-year increase of 30.2%.

According to media analysis of foreign trade data from 31 provinces across the country in the first two months, it was found that the import and export of 17 provinces showed a growth trend, while Yunnan Province remained flat, with a total of 18 provinces outperforming the national average growth rate; 21 provinces have achieved positive growth, and 20 provinces have exceeded the national export growth rate.

Chen Jia, a researcher at the International Monetary Research Institute of Renmin University of China and an independent international strategy researcher, stated that in the first two months, China's foreign trade has basically achieved stable development, especially under the conditions of continuous efforts to promote foreign trade continuity policies, the growth rate of foreign trade imports and exports in some provinces, regions, and cities has reached new highs. According to customs data, from the perspective of regional trade structure, the total import and export value of Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, the three traditional trade strong provinces, still occupies the top three. In terms of growth rate, the explosive growth trend of trade in Xinjiang, Guizhou, Hunan and other places is prominent. The proportion of total import and export value in the central and western regions has continued to rise to nearly 20% of the national level, reflecting the recent trend of accelerated growth in the overall foreign trade of the central region. From the perspective of product structure, in the trend of stabilizing and improving, high-tech, high value-added, and leading green transformation products have become new growth points for exports.

Statistics show that in the first two months, the total export of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells' new three samples' increased by 60%. Except for Guangdong, the major categories of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaics, mechatronics, semiconductors, and other products in trade strong provinces such as Zhejiang and Jiangsu have continued their strong growth since the fourth quarter of last year, continuing to serve as the main driving force for trade growth in the first two months.

Stabilizing foreign trade still requires collective planning and efforts

Despite a stable start, there is still some pressure on foreign trade overall this year. According to customs data, in the first two months, in response to the changes in the external market, local governments actively guided enterprises to adjust their export direction and expand diversified markets, effectively enhancing the stability of foreign trade exports. China's exports to ASEAN and countries along the "the Belt and Road" have increased by more than 15%. At the same time, in response to the order transfer brought about by the international division of labor adjustment, many foreign trade enterprises are actively seeking change and starting to build their own brands, breaking away from the path dependence on OEM orders.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, Shu Jueting, stated at a regular press conference that this year's foreign trade has shown strong development resilience with a stable start. On the one hand, the scale has remained stable; On the other hand, the structure is continuously optimized. Private enterprises are becoming more active, trading with emerging markets is becoming closer, cross-border transactions are becoming smoother, and new momentum for foreign trade continues to be unleashed. Local governments and enterprises generally reflect that weak external demand and a decrease in orders are the biggest challenges facing China's foreign trade this year. On the basis of extensive and in-depth research, the Ministry of Commerce is working with relevant departments to study policies to stabilize foreign trade and promote the stability, scale, and structure of foreign trade in response to local and enterprise needs.

The General Administration of Customs has proposed to continue more than 1300 specific measures of the 23 support measures taken last year, and to study new policy measures to address the pain points, difficulties, and obstacles faced by enterprises, such as helping them make full use of tariff preferences in free trade agreements such as RCEP, and reducing import and export costs.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade has strengthened its trade promotion function, taken multiple measures to improve industrial service levels, and provided greater support to enterprises in expanding overseas markets. A series of measures have been proposed to help foreign trade enterprises cope with challenges and difficulties, and ensure stable growth of foreign trade.

Local stability and foreign trade are also continuing to exert efforts. Recently, Qu Yuekuan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Binzhou Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor of Shandong, led a delegation to visit Japan to comprehensively deepen exchanges and cooperation in fields such as economy, trade and investment; Hebei Baoding Baigou New City organized luggage foreign trade enterprises to participate in the 2023 Asia Pacific Leather Exhibition in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, led by the China Leather Association, to conduct economic and trade negotiations and expand the international market; The Quanzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce in Fujian Province has introduced that in the first quarter, the city plans to organize more than 200 enterprises to participate in 12 overseas exhibition and sales activities

Gu Xueming, President of the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, stated that currently, relevant departments are researching and reserving relevant policies based on the latest changes in the international market and the demands of domestic market entities. These policy measures will further enhance the risk resistance ability of China's foreign trade entities and enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of China's foreign trade.