General

Recently, the General Administration of Customs released the latest import and export data. In the first four months of this year, China's total import and export value was 12.58 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.9% compared to the same period last year. Among them, exports reached 6.97 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.3%; Import of 5.61 trillion yuan, an increase of 5%; The trade surplus was 1.36 trillion yuan, an increase of 39.2%. How do you view this foreign trade data report? Xunhui SUNRATE has compiled relevant materials to interpret the meaning behind these numbers with you.

The import growth rate remained stable, while the export growth rate decreased by 10.8%

Why did the import and export data of foreign trade slow down in April?

According to customs import and export data, China's total import and export value in April was 496.12 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%. Among them, imports amounted to 222.5 billion US dollars, which was the same as the year-on-year growth rate in March; Export reached 273.62 billion US dollars, a decrease of 10.8 percentage points from the year-on-year growth rate in March to 3.9%.

In April, the year-on-year growth rate of foreign trade imports and exports slowed down, mainly due to the impact of the epidemic disturbance from multiple sources. Global demand has slowed down, industrial supply chains have been hindered, and China's exports to major trading partners have generally declined, resulting in a decline in foreign trade exports; The continuous downturn in investment and consumer willingness of domestic enterprises and residents in China has also posed challenges to market development such as stabilizing expectations and growth. Coupled with the factors of rising international commodity prices, it has also suppressed domestic import tendencies.

Many experts in the industry have also expressed their opinions on the import and export data for April. The macro researcher of the Financial Market Department of Everbright Bank stated in a report in the International Finance Journal: The growth rate of imports has not significantly improved, mainly due to the high cost of energy commodity imports, which has weakened the import demand of some enterprises. The uncertainty of the global economic recovery prospects has also to some extent affected the inventory plans of enterprises. In terms of exports, although the growth rate has slowed down, overall, foreign trade exports continued to grow throughout April, the trade surplus remained at a historical high, and the foreign trade structure is also continuously optimized The resilience of trade exports has been further demonstrated

Under pressure from imports and exports, there are still highlights in foreign trade:

The import and export growth rate of countries along the "the Belt and Road" is far higher than the overall growth rate

Although the import and export data of foreign trade slowed down in April, China's import and export performance to countries along the "the Belt and Road" is still outstanding. According to customs import and export data, ASEAN, the European Union, and the United States were the top three trading partners in the first four months, with China's total trade value with ASEAN reaching 1.84 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.2%; The total trade value with the European Union was 1.73 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.8%; The total value of trade between China and the United States was 1.56 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.7%.

At the same time, according to import and export data, China's total imports and exports to countries along the "the Belt and Road" in the first four months also reached 3.97 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.4%, much higher than the overall growth rate of imports and exports.

Strong resilience, great potential, and long-term positive fundamentals remain unchanged

Multiple policies have been introduced to support stable growth of foreign trade

At present, although China's foreign trade environment is facing a complex situation, the fundamentals of strong economic resilience and long-term improvement will not change. Import and export data shows that China's foreign trade imports and exports have maintained growth in the first four months, with the number of foreign trade enterprises with import and export performance increasing by 4.7% year-on-year. This fully reflects China's strong foreign trade resilience and great potential, and there is still good support for China to achieve the goal of maintaining stability and improving quality in foreign trade throughout the year, It is expected to maintain an expansion pattern in the future.

In order to help foreign trade enterprises accelerate their resumption of work and production, following the introduction of multiple policies to accelerate export tax refunds, the State Council executive meeting recently announced the adoption of a new round of measures to stabilize foreign trade, including ensuring orders, stabilizing imports and exports in key and labor-intensive industries, and providing guarantees for key foreign trade enterprises in production, logistics, employment, and other aspects; Effectively and orderly dredging of sea and air ports, improving operational and customs clearance efficiency, and ensuring the transportation of important components, equipment, and products; Increase credit allocation for small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises.

At the same time, epidemic prevention policies are also being optimized. Through precise epidemic prevention policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade covering multiple links, targeted policies are being implemented in collaboration with various regions to achieve smooth logistics and industrial supply chains, which will further provide assistance for the stable growth of China's foreign trade.

With the increasingly complex international trade situation and increasingly close global economic and trade cooperation, enterprises' overseas layout and response capabilities will also face greater tests. Under many uncertainties, while expanding trade channels, enterprises should pay more attention to product innovation and competitiveness. Perhaps victory is in the near future.