□ China Development and Reform News reporter Yang Hong Luo Mian
In the first quarter, the total import and export value of goods was 101693 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.0%. Among them, exports were 5,737.8 billion yuan, up by 4.9 percent; imports were 4,431.5 billion yuan, up by 5.0 percent; the scale of imports and exports exceeded 10 trillion yuan for the first time in the same period in history, and the growth rate of imports and exports hit a new high in six quarters; the total exports of mechanical and electrical products, including computers, automobiles, and ships, totaled 3.39 trillion yuan, up 6.8 percent year-on-year, accounting for 59.2 percent of the total export value, and the exports of high-end equipment in the central region increased by 42.6 percent......
A group of dazzling data reflects the significant characteristics of the "qualitative improvement" of the mainland's foreign trade development in the first quarter, effectively consolidating the momentum of "quantity stability", the high-quality development of foreign trade continues to take new steps, the competitive advantage of "Made in China" continues to consolidate, and the "good start" of foreign trade also injects recovery confidence into the global market.
Private enterprises in the field of foreign trade momentum is just right, the prospect is promising
In the shipbuilding industry base of Shidao Management Zone, Rongcheng City, Shandong Province, workers are busy repairing and building all kinds of large ships, and the base presents a busy and orderly production scene. Rongcheng City is a high-quality shipbuilding base in Shandong Province. In the first quarter of this year, the export value of ships exported by Rongcheng shipbuilding enterprises was 490 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.6%.
In the Dongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone, Ningde City, Fujian Province, in the intelligent production workshop of a high-tech company with an annual output of more than 200,000 massage chairs, workers are stepping up to make orders for massage chair appliances and inspect and produce intelligent massage chair products exported to Germany and South Korea.
According to the statistics of the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter, the import and export of private enterprises in the mainland reached 5.53 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.7 percent, accounting for 54.3 percent of the total import and export value. Lv Daliang, spokesman of the General Administration of Customs and director of the Department of Statistics and Analysis, said at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office a few days ago, "There are at least three aspects that deserve our praise and applause for private enterprises." ”
First, the contribution to development is increasing. In terms of the number of business entities, for every 10 foreign trade enterprises with import and export records, almost 9 are private enterprises. In terms of growth rate, the growth rate of exports and imports of private enterprises was 4.8 and 7.8 percentage points faster than the overall growth rate respectively, and the proportion of import and export scale in the total import and export value of the mainland increased to 54.3%, and the main position of foreign trade continued to be consolidated.
Second, the innovation strength of private enterprises is getting stronger and stronger. Private enterprises are leading the innovation and creation of the new force, has become the mainland's largest import and export of high-tech products, the first quarter of the import and export of high-tech products increased by 16.2%, higher than the overall growth rate of similar products 12.2 percentage points, of which the export of shipbuilding and marine engineering equipment, rail transit equipment increased by 90.5%, 24.9% respectively, high-end machine tool imports increased by 14.8%, for the field of foreign trade to accelerate the cultivation of new productivity, the accumulation of momentum to make an important contribution.
Third, the trading partners of private enterprises are becoming more and more diversified. Private enterprises dare to work hard to open up the market, and have done business all over the world, as far as Chile in the southernmost part of the world, Norway in the north, and Southeast Asian countries near the doorstep, all of which have close trade ties with private enterprises in the mainland. In the first quarter, private enterprises performed well in both traditional and emerging markets, with imports and exports to the European Union, the United States and Japan increasing by 1.8%, 9% and 6.7% respectively, and imports and exports to ASEAN, Latin America and Africa increasing by 10.9%, 20.2% and 12.8% respectively.
In April, on the bank of the Pearl River, the 135th China Import and Export Fair (hereinafter referred to as the "Canton Fair") arrived as scheduled. The Canton Fair is known as the "barometer" and "weather vane" of China's foreign trade. This year's Canton Fair reached a new high in scale, with 2,606 brand enterprises unveiled, and more than 5,500 high-quality characteristic enterprises with titles such as national high-tech, manufacturing individual champions, and specialized and special new "little giants", an increase of 20% over the previous session, and the proportion of private enterprises increased to 91%. It is expected that more than 1 million new products, more than 450,000 green and low-carbon products, and more than 250,000 products with independent intellectual property rights will be exhibited on site, all of which are higher than the previous session...... On the second day of the opening of the Canton Fair, the foreign trade import and export data of Guangdong Province in the first quarter was released: the scale of import and export hit a record high in the same period in history, and continued to rank first in the country, of which the import and export of private enterprises dominated by "small and medium" reached 1.28 trillion yuan, accounting for 62.9% of the total import and export value of Guangdong's foreign trade, an increase of 3.8 percentage points over the same period last year.
"On the whole, the momentum of private enterprises in the field of foreign trade is just right, and the prospects are promising. Lu Daliang said.
The "new three" has become an important driving force for the development of foreign trade
"The export momentum of mechanical and electrical products and labor products is good. Wang Lingjun, deputy director of the General Administration of Customs, said that in the first quarter, the mainland's exports of mechanical and electrical products were 3.39 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.8 percent, accounting for 59.2 percent of the total export value, of which computers and their parts, automobiles, and ships increased by 8.6 percent, 21.7 percent, and 113.1 percent respectively. In the same period, the export of labor-intensive products reached 975.72 billion yuan, an increase of 9.1 percent, of which textiles and garments, plastic products, furniture and their parts increased by 5.4 percent, 14 percent and 23.5 percent respectively.
Among them, the "new three" of foreign trade that President Xi Jinping highly praised in his 2024 New Year's message - new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products frequently appeared in the first quarter foreign trade report card posted in many places.
In the first quarter, Shandong's foreign trade "new three" exports were 2.89 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 90.2%, and the exports of lithium batteries, new energy vehicles and photovoltaic products increased by 104.4%, 65.3% and 95.7% respectively. Shandong's foreign trade "new three" exports are expected to exceed 10 billion yuan throughout the year, becoming an important driving force for the development of foreign trade.
In the first quarter, enterprises in Guangzhou Customs District exported 3.79 billion yuan of "new three" products, a year-on-year increase of 57.1%, of which 2.45 billion yuan were exported to electric manned vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 4.3 times. "This growth is due to the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry in Guangdong Province and the increasing demand for new energy vehicles in the international market. New energy vehicle companies in Guangdong Province, such as BYD and GAC Aion, have successfully opened up the international market through technological innovation and brand building. Xie Hong, president of the Guangdong Provincial Association for the Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, said in an interview with this reporter that the lithium battery industry in Guangdong Province occupies an important position in the global supply chain, especially in Southeast Asia, which provides strong support for the export of lithium batteries in Guangdong Province. With the increase in demand for lithium batteries for new energy vehicles and mobile devices, the competitiveness of lithium battery products in Guangdong Province in the global market has been further improved.
Xie Hong said that Guangdong Province, as a major economic province and foreign trade province in China, has been affected and challenged in many ways this year, but the export enterprises in Guangdong Province are also actively seeking transformation and upgrading, and in the face of the challenges of the international market, they will continue to optimize the export structure, enhance the added value of products and services, and actively expand new international markets. Through technological innovation, brand building and market diversification, we can better adapt to the changes in the international market and achieve sustainable development.
Maintain a good momentum of development for the Belt and Road countries
"Since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, the economic and trade exchanges between the mainland and the Belt and Road countries (hereinafter referred to as the "Belt and Road countries") have gone through the first decade of vigorous development. We are actively embracing a new golden decade. In the first quarter of this year, trade between the mainland and the countries under joint construction continued to maintain a good momentum of development. Wang Lingjun introduced that in the first quarter, the mainland's imports and exports to the "Belt and Road" countries increased by 5.5 percent, 0.5 percentage points higher than the whole, and the imports and exports to Latin America and Central Asia all achieved double-digit growth.
From the perspective of exports, "Made in China" continues to provide stable supply for all countries. In the first quarter, the mainland's exports to the co-construction countries reached 2.68 trillion yuan, an increase of 7%. We will increase industrial cooperation with the co-construction countries, and achieve double-digit growth in the export of high-tech intermediate goods such as electronic information, instrumentation and high-end equipment to the co-construction countries. The mainland's exports to the co-construction countries reached 20.04 billion yuan in the form of foreign contracted projects, of which exports to ASEAN, the Middle East, and Central Asian countries increased by 31.4 percent, 169.3 percent, and 3.6 percent respectively. The export of photovoltaic products exceeded 30 billion yuan, and the number of renewable energy generating units such as solar and wind power exceeded 120,000 units. "Made in China" effectively connects with the rich and diverse consumer needs of the co-construction countries, "the export of automobiles, home appliances, clothing and clothing accessories increased by 30.9%, 19.4% and 6% respectively, from daily consumer goods to large durable goods, which are widely welcomed by consumers." Wang Lingjun said.
From the perspective of imports, the "Chinese market" continues to bring development opportunities to other countries. In the first quarter, the mainland imported 2.14 trillion yuan from the co-construction countries, an increase of 3.6 percent, and crude oil from the Middle East, natural gas from Central Asia, metal ores from South America, and various advantageous bulk commodities from the co-construction countries were exported to the mainland. At the same time, the mainland continues to promote access to high-quality agricultural and food products, in the first quarter, the import of agricultural products from self-construction countries reached 149.87 billion yuan, and the imports of sesame seeds from Pakistan, black tea from Sri Lanka, and cranberries from Peru have achieved double-digit growth. "The mainland has a super-large market, a rich variety of demand, and a rapid release of market potential, which will continue to provide support for imports, and at the same time, it will also benefit the world more and more widely. Wang Lingjun said.
You don't have to mind the fluctuation of foreign trade data in a single month
Experts and scholars in the industry interviewed by this reporter generally believe that there is no need to worry too much about the decline in foreign trade data in a single month.
"The fluctuation of foreign trade data in a single month is relatively large, which is a reflection of the volatility of the post-epidemic economic cycle, and also has the influence of holiday factors and seasonal factors. Liu Xiangdong, deputy director of the macroeconomic research department of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told reporters that in dollar terms, exports fell by 7.5% year-on-year in March this year, down 15.7 and 13.1 percentage points year-on-year compared with exports in January and February, respectively, mainly due to the impact of the high base effect in the early stage. In US dollar terms, exports in March last year increased by 14.8 percent year-on-year, and in terms of March alone, the export value of 279.68 billion US dollars in March was second only to the highest value of 302.45 billion US dollars in the same period last year, and the export growth maintained the resilience since last year. In addition, there is also the impact of the dislocation of the Spring Festival, the small peak of exports before the Spring Festival this year has continued to the Spring Festival, exports in January were about 307.6 billion US dollars, and exports fell back to about 220.2 billion US dollars in February, forming a certain overdraft effect on the export volume in March. "Overall, the current export growth momentum is still strong, and the driving force behind it is the recent recovery of foreign demand and the domestic policy of stabilizing foreign trade. ”
Wang Xiaosong, a professor at the School of Economics at Chinese University, said exports fell 7.5 percent year-on-year in dollar terms in March. One of the reasons is that exports to the United States and Europe have declined significantly: in January ~ February, exports to the United States increased by 5%, and exports to the European Union fell by 1.3%; but in March, exports to the United States fell by 1.3% and exports to the European Union fell by 5.7%, behind which there are both fluctuations in market demand in the United States and Europe, and the trend of the United States and Europe, especially the European Union, seeking to decouple from China continues.
Zhang Jianping, director of the Regional Economic Cooperation Research Center of the Ministry of Commerce Research Institute, believes that judging from the past foreign trade data, the volatility of some monthly foreign trade data is relatively large, and there are many factors that affect it. In terms of trend, the growth rate of China's foreign trade is now in a positive trend, and the scale of import and export in the first quarter reached the highest in the same period in history, realizing a "good start" in foreign trade in the first quarter. "Such a new record shows that the overall competitiveness of China's foreign trade is relatively strong. ”
In the first quarter, the mainland's foreign trade had a strong start and a good momentum, laying a solid foundation for achieving the goal of "quality and quantity stability" throughout the year. At present, profound changes have taken place in the international environment, and the development of the world economy is facing many severe challenges, all of which will bring greater tests to the mainland's foreign trade. "But at the same time, it is more important to see that the mainland's economic fundamentals continue to improve, the comprehensive competitive advantage of foreign trade is more consolidated, and there is solid support for the continuous improvement of imports and exports. Wang Lingjun said.
Liu Xiangdong suggested: First, strengthen bilateral or multilateral high-level dialogues, respond to the concerns of the industrial and commercial circles in a timely manner, grasp the opportunity of the release of the demand for replenishment of stocks, focus on consolidating the traditional market, and ensure the stability of the basic trade market; second, expand the markets of emerging markets and developing countries, make good use of the signed economic and trade rules such as the RCEP, give full play to the role of international transportation channels such as the China-Europe freight train, and support foreign trade enterprises in laying out foreign trade networks, including the development of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" national markets, expand markets in ASEAN, Central Asia, West Asia, Latin America, Africa and other regions, and cooperate with enterprises in the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea to explore third-party markets; By optimizing management measures such as customs clearance and ports, we will promote cross-border trade facilitation, actively develop intermediate goods trade, service trade and digital trade, make good use of cross-border e-commerce, overseas warehouses and other trade platforms, and accelerate the cultivation of new momentum for foreign trade.
At the same time, we will persist in implementing the strategy of expanding imports and use new channels to expand the import of high-quality products. Expand two-way investment and stabilize the mutually beneficial and win-win production and supply chain. Encourage and support enterprises with superior production capacity to optimize their global production layout, build production bases for overseas consumer markets, ease restrictions on overseas localized procurement, and drive equipment output with capital output. "Give full play to the leading role of foreign investment in stabilizing foreign trade, stabilize the industrial and supply chain of foreign investment in China, and expand the scale of foreign import and export. Promote the mutual recognition of domestic and international technologies, products, services, certifications and other standards. Liu Xiangdong said.