General

According to foreign trade data, 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%. Among them, exports were 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.

In the first four months of this year, private enterprises imported and exported 7.05 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.8%, accounting for 52.9% of China's total foreign trade value. There are 415000 private enterprises with import and export performance in China, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year. Private enterprises continue to maintain their position as the largest operating entity in China's foreign trade.

According to foreign trade data, in the first four months of this year, the total import and export of the central and western regions reached 2.45 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.6%, 4.8 percentage points faster than the overall national level, accounting for 18.4% of China's total import and export value, and a year-on-year increase of 0.8 percentage points.

According to foreign trade data, in the first four months of this year, China's imports and exports to countries along the "the Belt and Road" totaled 4.61 trillion yuan, up 16% year on year. The import and export growth rate is 10.2 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate, accounting for 34.6%. During the same period, foreign trade data shows that ASEAN continues to be China's largest trading partner, with imports and exports to ASEAN reaching 2.09 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.9%, accounting for 15.7% of China's total foreign trade value; The import and export to the European Union reached 1.8 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%, which is 2.2 percentage points faster than the first quarter.

How to conduct an overall analysis of China's import and export data of goods trade in the first four months? What are the specific highlights? Let's listen to the interpretation brought by Xu Hongcai, Deputy Director of the Economic Policy Committee of the China Policy Science Research Association.

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. Because the overall growth of the world economy this year is sluggish, especially in developed economies where inflation continues to be high, the central bank's continuous interest rate hikes have suppressed external demand. This indicates that the recent policies introduced by relevant departments in China to promote stable foreign trade, scale and structure have achieved good results, and also demonstrates the enormous resilience of China's industrial chain and the international competitiveness of China's manufacturing industry.

Not only has the total foreign trade volume maintained 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, which shows that China's foreign trade development mode is accelerating its transformation. At the same time, the regional structure is also changing. The import and export to ASEAN and countries related to the "the Belt and Road", especially the export growth is relatively fast. The foreign trade surplus has increased more, while the export to the United States is declining, and the trade surplus to the United States is also gradually narrowing. This "rising and falling" is actually a performance of structural optimization.

In addition, some high value-added mechanical and electrical products have grown relatively fast, while the export growth of traditional products such as low value-added textiles has been relatively slow. There are also private enterprises that 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 have also developed rapidly. These all indicate that China's foreign trade has undergone severe tests, demonstrating great resilience and international competitiveness.

But we also need to see some potential challenges, such as weak imports, which also include factors such as the decline in commodity prices. In fact, against the backdrop of price reductions, the physical quantity of our imports has not decreased, but rather has been increasing. However, the decrease in import orders from developed economies has put some pressure on some foreign trade enterprises in China. I think in the future, we will continue to face the challenges of such external environmental changes, especially the United States leading the restructuring of the global supply chain system. This will have 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, increase technological content, especially further optimize the business environment, attract more market entities, and unleash its potential, To further enhance the competitiveness of China's foreign trade.