General

Ports are a "barometer" for observing economic fluctuations. Recently, reporters learned through interviews that the throughput of multiple ports in China showed a significant growth trend in the first quarter, and the number of empty containers was gradually decreasing. This reflects a new trend in China's international trade development and also strengthens the confidence in maintaining stability and improving quality of foreign trade throughout the year against a complex background.

Empty containers reduce throughput growth at multiple ports

After the valley rain, Zhoushan Port in Ningbo, Zhejiang, which has the world's largest annual cargo throughput and the world's third largest annual container throughput, is bustling along the coast of the East China Sea.

The reporter saw at the container terminal in the Chuanshan Port area of the port that on the coastline of the terminal, which is about 3.74 kilometers long, 10000 ton giant ships are lined up in a row, and 11 large container deep-water berths are basically fully occupied. The bridge crane is busy with operations and closely cooperates with container trucks to load and unload goods.

According to data from the Zhejiang Provincial Port and Channel Management Center, from January to March this year, Ningbo Zhoushan Port completed a cargo throughput of 331 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.14%; The container throughput was 8.1878 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 3.48%.

Since the beginning of the new year, port logistics has always been smooth and orderly, especially after the Spring Festival holiday, as enterprises resume work and production, the number of containers gradually increases, reflecting a positive signal of international trade recovery. "said the relevant person in charge of the business department of Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd.

Not only Ningbo Zhoushan Port, but since March, the level of empty container storage in multiple ports in China has dropped from a high point, and container usage is gradually recovering.

Liang Jing, the Secretary of the Board of Directors of Guangzhou Port Company, revealed at the recently held 2022 performance briefing that in the first quarter of this year, the utilization rate of the company's foreign trade empty container yard (directly proportional to the number of empty containers stacked) decreased by about ten percentage points compared to the high level.

This positive change can also be further confirmed in terms of throughput. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Transport, from January to March this year, the cargo throughput of ports in China reached 3.854 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%. Among them, the cargo throughput of foreign trade reached 1.19 billion tons, an increase of 7.8%, and the cargo throughput of domestic trade reached 2.66 billion tons, an increase of 5.4%; The national port container throughput is 69.73 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%.

It is worth noting that the container throughput of northern ports increased significantly in the first quarter, with Qingdao Port, Rizhao Port, Yantai Port, Weihai Port, Yingkou Port, Dalian Port and other ports experiencing double-digit year-on-year growth rates.

New driving force strengthens and unleashes the potential for foreign trade growth

The busy operation of ports and frequent "migration" of containers confirm the new trend of stable and qualitative increase in China's foreign trade volume.

In January, there was a year-on-year decrease of 7%, a rapid increase of 8% in February, and a significant increase of 15.5% in March. In the first quarter, China's foreign trade import and export growth rate showed an upward curve.

Among them, the "new three" competitive advantages of electric vehicles, photovoltaic, and lithium batteries continue to be released, with a total export growth of 66.9% in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of over 100 billion yuan, driving the overall export growth rate of China to 2 percentage points.

Recently, thousands of neatly arranged commodity vehicles entered the cargo hold of Yantai Port in Shandong Port, preparing to sail to major automotive markets in the world such as the Americas, Africa, and Europe. The scene was spectacular.

The reporter learned that as the fifth largest commodity vehicle logistics distribution port and the third largest foreign trade export port along the coast of China, Yantai Port in Shandong has completed a total of 149000 foreign trade commodity vehicle shipments since the beginning of this year, a year-on-year increase of double.

Photovoltaic exports are also hot. At present, the company's overall orders are stable and improving. While receiving orders from Australia, Europe, Latin America, and other places, it also focuses on emerging markets such as the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. "said Ni Hanyi, Global Marketing Director of Zhejiang Zhengtai Xinneng Technology Co., Ltd.

The commodity structure is changing, and the "circle of friends" of China's foreign trade is also becoming more diverse, further stimulating the growth potential.

In the first quarter, China's imports and exports to ASEAN, the largest trading partner, increased by 16.1% year-on-year, 11.3 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate, accounting for 15.8% of the total import and export value; Import and export to countries along the "the Belt and Road" increased by 16.8%, 12 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate; The total import and export to the other 14 member countries of RCEP increased by 7.3% year-on-year, with growth rates exceeding 20% for Singapore, Laos, and Myanmar.

The continuously enriched route resources and improved port comprehensive service capabilities provide strong support for ensuring the smooth flow of trade supply chain and industrial chain.

Taking the Shandong port of Yantai as an example, this year it opened up the bonded potassium fertilizer business of the China Europe freight train for the first time, building a new two-way international sea rail intermodal cross-border logistics channel that connects Europe and Asia to the west and Japan and South Korea to the east; Relying on the superior transport capacity and boutique routes of China South Korea liners, we will spare no effort to build the "the Belt and Road", RCEP routes and container cross-border e-commerce boutique express lines; International bulk cargo routes in Indonesia have seen strong growth, with a year-on-year increase of 77%.

We export small commodities through market procurement and trade, with simplified customs clearance procedures, faster customs clearance speed, and lower export costs. In addition, Yantai Port has the advantage of convenient China South Korea liner services, and we have exported over 200 batches of small commodities to South Korea this year, "said the head of Yantai Hanrong Feng Industry and Trade Co., Ltd.

Concentrated efforts in promoting stability and improving quality series of measures

Although China's foreign trade achieved a stable start in the first quarter, the current situation is still complex and severe, facing many difficulties and challenges, such as uncertainty in external demand, rising trade risks, and increased business pressure.

Recently, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Promoting the Stability, Scale and Structure of Foreign Trade", proposing to make greater efforts to promote the stability, scale and structure of international trade, and ensure the achievement of the goal of promoting stability and improving quality in import and export.

A series of measures will focus on: issuing relevant national trade guidelines, finding ways to stabilize exports to developed economies, and guiding enterprises to deeply explore developing country markets and regional markets such as ASEAN; Organize direct customer docking between automotive companies and shipping companies, and guide them to sign medium - and long-term agreements with shipping companies; Research and establish the second phase of the Service Trade Innovation and Development Guidance Fund

"The key focus of stabilizing foreign trade lies in quality improvement and innovation." Ni Yueju, a researcher at the Institute of World Economy and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that in the future, China's international trade development should pay more attention to the optimization of structure, the cultivation of new advantages and the excavation of new drivers, and constantly develop new products, new formats and new models.

Jiang Ruifeng, General Manager of Xigemai Co., Ltd., has a deep understanding of this. He said, "Regardless of the external environment, we have always been committed to innovative research and development, continuously enhancing the core competitiveness of the enterprise

This automotive shock absorber manufacturer located in Sanmen County, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, mainly targets European and American countries in the market, and plans to increase sales by more than 20% this year. Jiang Ruifeng told reporters that the electronic adjustable shock absorbers developed by the company have recently been put into the market, helping the company successfully gain business growth in the European market.

Faced with the demand for stability and quality improvement in foreign trade, multiple ports have also taken action. The relevant person in charge of Yantai Port in Shandong Province stated that while customizing personalized and butler style services for customers, the next step will continue to leverage the integration and intelligence advantages of Yantai Port's intelligent inspection platform, helping "Made in China" to go to sea more efficiently and conveniently, and striving to achieve resonance between the port and regional economy.

Experts predict that with the overall improvement of China's economic operation and the continuous efforts of measures to stabilize the scale and optimize the structure of foreign trade, the positive trend of China's foreign trade is expected to continue, and the export of containers in international trade will gradually increase. This year, the growth of the main indicators of coastal port production will rebound.