China’s exports surged 14.8% year-on-year in March, its first increase in six months, helped by strong shipments of manned electric vehicles (EVs), lithium batteries, and solar products, official data showed Thursday.
Meanwhile, imports dropped 1.4% in March, which is smaller than the contraction recorded in the previous two months, data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed.
Total export of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells went up 66.9% year-on-year in the first quarter, which raised the overall growth rate of China's exports by two percentage points.
In the first three months of the year, the total value of the country’s foreign trade imports and exports saw a 4.8% year-on-year increase during the month, while the import and export growth rate of private enterprises was higher than that of the whole.
The total value of bilateral trade between China and the European Union (EU) increased by 2% year-on-year in the first quarter, which accounted for 13.5% of the country’s total foreign trade value. The country’s imports and exports to France went up by 2.9%. Cross-border e-commerce imports and export went up by 15.8% during the period.
“This year’s foreign trade situation is severe and complicated, but at the same time, we must also see the competitiveness, resilience, and advantages of China’s foreign trade,” Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said in a statement.
Customs data showed that in the first two months of 2023, there was an increase in imports and exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a decline in imports and exports to the EU, the US, and Japan.
The total trade value during the period between China and the ASEAN, the country’s largest trading partner, rose 9.6%, accounting for 15.4% of its total foreign trade. Total trade value with the EU and the US fell 2.6% and 10.6%, respectively.
China is looking into stabilizing exports to developed economies and guiding enterprises to deeply explore the markets of developing countries and the ASEAN and other regional markets, according to the State Council chaired by the country’s Premier Li Qiang.
Shouwen said orders in some provinces have picked up, transportation problems have eased, and shipping prices dropped significantly compared to last year when “it was hard even to find a container for a ship.”
He added that China’s trade environment is improving, especially with civil aviation recovering and other measures announced, especially with visas.
