MYSTEEL: China's foreign trade expands in many provinces over Jan-Apr

Many Chinese provinces reported on-year growth in foreign trade during the first four months of this year, despite the uncertain international trade environment caused by the high tariff policies being pursued by the Trump administration in the United States, Mysteel Global learned.

Over January-April, 20 out of China's 31 provincial-level regions (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) achieved positive on-year growth in their foreign trade value, with the rises in 16 of them surpassing the national average growth rate of 2.4%, Mysteel has learned, based on the Customs statistics released by local authorities.

China's coastal provinces leveraged their geographical advantages to perform strongly in foreign trade during the January-April period. Over the four months, the total import-export value of South China's Guangdong reached Yuan 2.96 trillion ($410 billion), topping the list. Jiangsu in East China ranked second with Yuan 1.85 trillion, closely followed by East China's Zhejiang with Yuan 1.75 trillion. Jiangsu to the north and Zhejiang to the south border the Shanghai municipality, Mysteel Global notes.

Table 1: China's top 10 regions in foreign trade value over January-April

Ranking	Region	Total Foreign Trade Value (Yuan 100 million)	YoY(%)
1	Guangdong	29,566	4.9%
2	Jiangsu	18,468	5.7%
3	Zhejiang	17,477	6.6%
4	Shanghai	14,048	1.0%
5	Shandong	11,282	7.6%
6	Beijing	9,982	-18.7%
7	Fujian	5,988	-9.1%
8	Sichuan	3,419	7.9%
9	Anhui	2,925	14.1%
10	Henan	2,758	29.5%

Source: Local Customs authorities

During the first four months of this year, the value of exports despatched through Guangdong ensured that the province maintained its position as China top export conduit, with the value reaching Yuan 1.86 trillion. The runners up were Zhejiang and Jiangsu whose exports were valued at Yuan 1.31 trillion and Yuan 1.23 trillion respectively.

Among the 31 provincial-level regions, the export value of 24 provinces expanded on year during January-April, with the growth achieved by 13 provinces exceeding the national average of 7.5%.

Table 2: China's top 10 regions in value of exports over January-April

Ranking	Region	Value of Exports (Yuan 100 million)	YoY(%)
1	Guangdong	18,577	2.1%
2	Zhejiang	13,115	9.7%
3	Jiangsu	12,311	10.3%
4	Shandong	6,792	6.2%
5	Shanghai	6,290	13.8%
6	Fujian	3,646	-10.0%
7	Sichuan	2,103	7.0%
8	Beijing	2,006	4.8%
9	Anhui	1,987	16.7%
10	Hubei	1,897	36.6%

Source: Local Customs authorities

As for the value of imports during the first four months, only 11 among the 31 provincial-level regions recorded increases in the value of their imports compared with the same period last year. Guangdong recorded Yuan 1.1 trillion over January-April, still the highest in the list, while Beijing ranked second with Yuan 797.7 billion, and Shanghai took bronze with Yuan 775.8 billion.

Table 3: China's top 10 regions in value of imports over January-April

Ranking	Region	Value of imports (Yuan 100 million)	YoY(%)
1	Guangdong	10,989	10.1%
2	Beijing	7,977	-23.1%
3	Shanghai	7,758	-7.4%
4	Jiangsu	6,158	-2.5%
5	Shandong	4,490	9.7%
6	Zhejiang	4,363	-1.6%
7	Fujian	2,342	-7.7%
8	Sichuan	1,317	9.4%
9	Tianjin	1,235	-7.9%
10	Liaoning	1,158	-12.8%

Source: Local Customs authorities

Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com