In the first two months of this year, the country's import and export of goods reached 6.61 trillion yuan, and foreign trade achieved a solid start.On March 26, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office, relevant officials from the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs stated that the booming new business formats and models will continue to provide new momentum for the development of China’s foreign trade.In the future, relevant departments will implement comprehensive policies to support enterprises in exploring diversified markets and promote the healthy development of new business formats such as cross-border e-commerce. At the same time, they will actively expand the import of high-quality products, successfully host key exhibitions such as the China International Import Expo and the Canton Fair, and promote the high-quality development of foreign trade.
Foreign trade continues growth trend
In the first two months of this year, China's import and export of goods continued the growth trend since October last year.
How to view foreign trade achieving a good start? At the press conference, Wang Lingjun, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, summarized the situation with "1234".
One is the largest import and export scale in history during the same period. In the first two months of this year, imports and exports amounted to 6.61 trillion yuan, which is basically equivalent to China's total foreign trade value for the whole year 20 years ago.
In the current sluggish international market, achieving such results is commendable and inspiring.
The second is the dual growth of exports and imports. Export growth of 10.3% and import growth of 6.7%, this "dual growth" not only reflects the sustained recovery and improvement of China's economic development, but also provides broad market space and cooperation opportunities for enterprises from various countries.
"Three" means "three optimizations". Market pattern optimization, accelerated development of emerging markets, and maintained good performance in traditional markets.
The regional opening-up layout has been optimized, and the eastern coastal areas continue to play a stabilizing role.
The import and export of 9 provinces and regions along the border to neighboring countries has increased by 25.4%. The optimization of product structure, the revitalization of traditional advantageous products, and the emergence of new quality productivity have given rise to new driving forces, effectively consolidating the basic foundation of foreign trade.
"Four" means "four improvements". Micro level vitality has improved, and the number of foreign trade operators with import and export performance has increased by more than 40000 compared to the same period last year;
The level of institutional openness has been improved, and both the import and export of the free trade pilot zone and Hainan Free Trade Port have achieved double-digit growth;
The activity of cross-border flow has increased, and the daily average number of customs supervised inbound and outbound transportation vehicles in the first two months has steadily increased compared to the end of last year, with the number of regulated inbound and outbound aircraft increasing by nearly 10%; Corporate confidence has improved, according to the China Customs Trade Prosperity Survey, the confidence of foreign trade enterprises continues to increase.
New industries accumulate new advantages. In the first two months, exports of high-end machine tools, shipbuilding and marine engineering equipment, and aerospace equipment increased by 34.5%, 61.3%, and 17.7%, respectively. In the first two months, the export growth rate of intermediate products such as flat panel display modules and parts of audio and video equipment exceeded 20%, strongly supporting relevant countries in creating employment and developing production, and also effectively maintaining the stability of the global industrial and supply chains.
A new brand nurtures new vitality. "Chinese trendy brands" are widely popular overseas, and more and more Chinese brands are going abroad with culture and warmth. In the first two months, the export of domestic brand products in China increased by 14.3%; Among them, exports of mobile phones, furniture, and cosmetics increased by 55.7%, 60.7%, and 37.3% respectively.
New models expand new spaces. In the first two months, cross-border e-commerce imports and exports increased by nearly 10%, and market procurement exports increased by 15.9%. Under the promotion of the new model, high-quality products at home and abroad can achieve two-way communication more conveniently and efficiently, meeting the diverse needs of consumers at home and abroad.
New platforms activate new vitality. In the first two months, the import and export of 22 free trade pilot zones increased by 11.7%. Among them, the import and export growth rates of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hebei and other free trade pilot zones have all exceeded 30%; The construction of Hainan Free Trade Port continues to advance, with import and export growth exceeding 20% in the first two months.
"We have various new forms and models of business that are flourishing, providing new momentum for the continuous development of foreign trade," said Guo Tingting, Deputy Minister of Commerce.
More effort is needed to improve quality and stabilize quantity
China has a solid foundation, strong resilience, and abundant vitality in foreign trade. At the same time, it should also be noted that the external situation faced by foreign trade is still very severe.
"Multiple international organizations predict that the global economic growth rate in 2024 will be lower than the historical average. The World Bank predicts that the global trade growth rate will only be half of the average growth rate in the 10 years before the pandemic." Guo Tingting said that more efforts will be needed to promote the stable improvement and quantity of foreign trade in 2024. At present, the Ministry of Commerce is urgently studying a new round of policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade, striving to introduce and implement them as soon as possible, and to achieve results as soon as possible, in order to fully consolidate the basic situation of foreign trade and foreign investment.
It is reported that this year, efforts will be made to achieve the goal of "improving quality and stabilizing quantity" in foreign trade. The focus of the Ministry of Commerce's work is to cultivate new driving forces, expand new growth points, promote innovation and upgrading of the foreign trade industry and supply chain, and deepen cooperation with trading partners to add momentum to international trade and global economic growth. Specifically, the first is to deepen international cooperation in the foreign trade supply chain, the second is to promote the digital and green development of trade, and the third is to promote the development of new forms of foreign trade.
We will expand cross-border e-commerce exports, continuously improve supporting policies, solidly promote the construction of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, organize special actions such as brand cultivation, organize special training, strengthen capacity building, and support foreign trade enterprises to expand sales channels and cultivate independent brands through cross-border e-commerce.
