General

The General Administration of Customs recently released foreign trade data for the first four months of this year. In the first four months of this year, China's total import and export value was 13.32 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%. Foreign trade data shows that exports reached 7.67 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.6%; Import reached 5.65 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.02%. Foreign trade data shows that the year-on-year growth rate of imports and exports in the first four months has accelerated by 1 percentage point compared to the first quarter. The monthly customs survey shows that the proportion of enterprises with increased export orders has been increasing for four consecutive months, and the trend of stable and positive foreign trade has further continued.

Foreign trade import and export growth exceeded expectations from January to April

Xu Hongcai, Deputy Director of the Economic Policy Committee of the China Policy Science Research Association: From January to April, foreign trade imports and exports increased by 5.8% year-on-year, of which exports increased by 10.6% year-on-year. The foreign trade surplus further expanded, which indeed exceeded everyone's expectations. Foreign trade data shows that overall global economic growth this year is sluggish. Especially in developed economies, inflation continues to run at high levels, and central banks have continuously raised interest rates to suppress external demand. This indicates that recent policies implemented by relevant departments in China to promote stable scale and optimized structure of foreign trade have achieved good results, and also demonstrate the enormous resilience of China's industrial chain and the international competitiveness of China's manufacturing industry.

Not only does the total amount increase

And the structure is significantly optimized

Xu Hongcai, Deputy Director of the Economic Policy Committee of the China Policy Science Research Association, said that not only has the total foreign trade volume maintained a rapid growth, but the structure has also been significantly optimized. Specifically, it is reflected in the growth of general trade and the decline of processing trade, with each other increasing and decreasing, which reflects the accelerating transformation of China's foreign trade development mode.

This eliminates the other and rises and falls one by one

It's also structural optimization

Xu Hongcai, Deputy Director of the Economic Policy Committee of the China Policy Science Research Association: The regional structure is changing. Foreign trade data on imports and exports to ASEAN and countries related to the "the Belt and Road" show that exports, in particular, are growing rapidly, and the foreign trade surplus is increasing more. Exports to the United States are decreasing, while the trade surplus with the United States is gradually narrowing. This "one rise and one fall" is actually a manifestation of structural optimization. Private enterprises have always maintained their position as the largest operating entity, and new formats and models such as cross-border e-commerce and bonded overseas warehouses are also developing rapidly. All of these indicate that our foreign trade has undergone severe tests, demonstrating great resilience and international competitiveness.

To turn pressure into power

Further optimize the business environment

Xu Hongcai, Deputy Director of the Economic Policy Committee of the China Policy Science Research Association, said: We need to see some potential challenges. For example, imports are currently relatively weak, with factors such as a decrease in commodity prices. In fact, against the backdrop of price reductions, the physical quantity of our imports has not actually decreased, but rather increased. However, the decrease in import orders from developed economies has put some pressure on some of our foreign trade enterprises. In the future, we will continue to face challenges from external environmental changes. Especially with the United States leading the restructuring of the global supply chain system, there will be certain operational pressure for Chinese enterprises in the future. We need to turn pressure into driving force, promote the transformation of the development mode of foreign trade structure, and increase the technological content. Especially by further optimizing the business environment, attracting more market entities, unleashing its potential, and thereby enhancing China's foreign trade competitiveness.