China sees steady foreign trade growth in first 10 months

This photo taken on July 11, 2022 shows a scene from the welcome ceremony for the 10,000th trip made by China-Europe freight trains operated by the China-Europe Railway Express (Chongqing) in Duisburg, Germany. [Xinhua/Ren Pengfei]

BEIJING -- China's trade in goods logged steady expansion in the first 10 months of this year as supportive policies, and enterprising trade firms contributed to the market's resilience.

The country's foreign trade of goods climbed 9.5 percent year on year to 34.62 trillion yuan (about 4.79 trillion U.S. dollars) during the Jan.-Oct. period, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Monday.

Exports rose 13 percent year on year to 19.71 trillion yuan, while imports increased 5.2 percent from a year ago to 14.91 trillion yuan.

In October, the country's trade in goods totaled 3.55 trillion yuan, up 6.9 percent over one year ago. Exports and imports rose 7 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.

In the first 10 months of 2022, ASEAN was China's largest trading partner, whose trade volume with China accounted for 15.2 percent of the country's total foreign trade.

The European Union and the United States were China's second-largest and third-largest trading partners during the period, respectively.

China's trade with countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative posted robust year-on-year growth, with both exports and imports jumping over 20 percent.

In terms of specific trade goods, mechanical and electrical products, and labor-intensive products, continued to be popular exports, with the former making up 57.1 percent of the total exports value.

China's exports of automobiles surged 72 percent year on year, while exports of cellphones ticked up 8.7 percent over one year ago.

During the first 10 months, the country's imports of iron ore, crude oil, coal, natural gas, and soybeans shrank.

China's foreign trade companies expressed stronger confidence and maintained higher expectations regarding trade prospects for the entire year during the third quarter, revealed a survey conducted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

Some 30.31 percent of the surveyed firms said they expect to achieve year-on-year growth in annual trade volumes, up 4.09 percentage points from the second quarter.

Many surveyed firms voiced their appreciation of the country's string of trade-facilitating steps, such as tax and fee cuts, export tax rebates, and cross-border RMB transactions.

The Chinese vast community of private firms registered rapid trade growth during the Jan.-Oct. period. Their trade volume expanded 14.4 percent to reach 17.44 trillion yuan, accounting for 50.4 percent of China's total foreign trade, 2.2 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

To further boost imports, China announced last week that 29 more national demonstration zones for import promotion and innovation will be set up, bringing the total number of such demonstration zones to 43 across the country.

China's foreign trade has displayed strong resilience despite global headwinds, said Zhou Jinzhu, an associate researcher with the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, a think tank.

With supportive policies continuing to play their roles in the fourth quarter, China's trade is expected to nail positive growth for 2022, Zhou estimated.