GACC: China's foreign trade sustains robust growth amid structural optimization

The strong overall growth was accompanied by notable deep structural optimization in China's export product mix, market diversification and coordinated regional development, according to Lyu Daliang, director of the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC)'s department of statistics and analysis.

In terms of export structure, the shift toward high-end, intelligent and green products becomes increasingly evident. Exports of mechanical and electrical products reached Yuan 16.81 trillion in January-October, up 25.2% year on year, with their share of total exports rising 3.9 percentage points to 64.7%.

Among them, exports of high-tech and high-value-added products surged, with integrated circuits and storage components jumping 101.9% and 132.5% respectively, and 3D printers, digital cameras and industrial robots rising 104.8%, 41.4% and 17.8% respectively.

Meanwhile, exports of the "new three" green products (electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar cells), electric motorcycles and bicycles, and wind turbines and components also posted double-digit growth of 46.5%, 33.3% and 19.7% respectively. Backed by its complete industrial system and innovation capabilities, China is providing stable and reliable green product supplies to the world, Lyu noted.

On the import side, the demand potential of China's super-large domestic market is being steadily released. Imports reached Yuan 2.08 trillion in October alone, surging 34.7% year on year. In January-October, China's imports from more than 150 countries and regions all increased, with imports from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Latin America and Africa hitting record highs for the same period.

Beyond product structure optimization, China's foreign trade also shows coordinated progress in trade partners and business entities. In January-October, China's trade with more than 180 countries and regions increased, with trade with ASEAN, Latin America and Africa rising 24.2%, 14.4% and 17.6% respectively. During the same period, trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reached Yuan 22.88 trillion, up 18.5%.

In terms of business entities, private enterprises' foreign trade reached Yuan 25.46 trillion, up 20.1% year on year, accounting for 56.8% of the country's total. Foreign-invested enterprises' trade rose 20.4% to Yuan 13.15 trillion, while state-owned enterprises' trade grew 19.1% to Yuan 6.12 trillion.

Moreover, regional foreign trade development becomes more balanced, with central and western regions growing rapidly. In January-October, the central and western regions' foreign trade grew 24.5%, 4.5 percentage points faster than the national average. Driven by reforms and innovations in multimodal transport customs clearance, as well as the growing driving force of the China-Europe freight trains and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the foreign trade potential of the central and western regions has been effectively unleashed, providing strong support for the overall resilience of China's foreign trade, Lyu added.

Edited by Mason Ren, rengenyu@mysteel.com