General

On the 7th, the General Administration of Customs released customs data showing that in May, China's total import and export value was 3.45 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.5%. Among them, exports reached 1.95 trillion yuan, a decrease of 0.8%; Import of 1.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.3%; The trade surplus was 452.33 billion yuan, narrowing by 9.7%.

Customs data shows that in the first five months, China's total import and export value was 16.77 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%. Among them, exports reached 9.62 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.1%; Import reached 7.15 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.5%; The trade surplus reached 2.47 trillion yuan, an increase of 38%.

After two consecutive months of export growth exceeding expectations, China's export growth rate fell back in May. Xu Deshun, a researcher at the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the main pressure for the slowdown in export growth in May was due to the decline in external demand and price factors. Since May, global commodity prices have remained low, which continues to have a negative impact on the year-on-year growth rate of import and export amounts. At the same time, the significant increase in the comparison base in May last year also lowered the export growth rate.

Since the beginning of this year, China's foreign trade has faced a severe and complex external environment. The development of global trade has been influenced by multiple factors, especially weak external demand and geopolitical factors, which have brought greater challenges to China's foreign trade development. In this context, China's foreign trade operation adheres to the overall tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, showing three highlights:

Firstly, the overall foreign trade market is stable and improving, and the trade structure is continuously optimized and improved. Customs data shows that in the first five months, China's economy has shown a stabilizing and rebounding trend, with production and demand gradually improving, promoting a significant stabilization of foreign trade imports and exports. Among them, the import and export of general trade reached 11 trillion yuan, an increase of 7%, accounting for 65.6% of China's total foreign trade value, an increase of 1.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year. During the same period, the import and export of processing trade reached 2.99 trillion yuan, a decrease of 9.3%, accounting for 17.8%.

The second is that the business entities are making steady progress, and the proportion of imports and exports of private enterprises exceeds 50%. In the first five months, the import and export of private enterprises reached 8.86 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.1%, accounting for 52.8% of China's total foreign trade value, an increase of 3.9 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Among them, exports reached 6.09 trillion yuan, an increase of 16.2%, accounting for 63.3% of the total export value; Import reached 2.77 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.8%, accounting for 38.8% of the total import value. The import and export growth rate of private enterprises is fast, and the trade proportion continues to maintain at over half, playing a positive role in stabilizing the scale and optimizing the structure of foreign trade.

The third is to accelerate the gathering of new driving forces, with the "new three types" leading exports. Customs data shows that in the first five months, ASEAN continued to maintain its position as China's largest trading partner, with a total trade value of 2.59 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.9%, accounting for 15.4% of China's total foreign trade value. Among them, exports to ASEAN reached 1.56 trillion yuan, an increase of 16.4%. Over the same period, China's imports and exports to countries along the "the Belt and Road" totaled 5.78 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.2%. In addition, the "new three types" of electric manned vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells have obvious advantages and outstanding performance, with automobile exports reaching 266.78 billion yuan, an increase of 124.1%.

Since the beginning of this year, China's economic development has shown a rebound and positive trend, providing strong support for the stable growth of foreign trade. The continuous cultivation and growth of new advantages and growth drivers in foreign trade have played a more positive role in the overall stability and improvement of foreign trade. Lv Daliang, Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs, stated that on the one hand, foreign trade enterprises have fully utilized their vitality and taken the initiative to seize orders and expand the market, stabilizing the overall foreign trade market; On the other hand, a series of policies and measures to stabilize the scale and optimize the structure of foreign trade have helped foreign trade operators actively respond to the challenges brought by weak foreign demand, effectively capturing market opportunities, and promoting China's foreign trade to maintain positive growth for four consecutive months.

It is worth noting that China's imports and exports to other RCEP member countries have steadily increased. Customs data shows that in the first five months, China's imports and exports to other RCEP member countries reached 5.11 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.5%. RCEP accounted for over 30% of China's foreign trade. Experts say that with the official entry into force of RCEP for the Philippines, it marks a new stage of comprehensive implementation of the world's largest free trade zone, and a comprehensive, mutually beneficial, and high-level economic partnership is constantly advancing.