SMM10, 12 March, this morning, the General Administration of Customs held a press conference on import and export in the first three quarters of 2018. Li Kuiwen, spokesman for the General Administration of Customs, made a relevant reply on the import and export situation in the first three quarters of 2018. Li Kuiwen mentioned that on the whole, since the beginning of this year, China's foreign trade has been running smoothly and steadily, and the high-quality development of foreign trade has been promoted in an orderly manner, although there are still some uncertain and unstable factors in the field of international economy and trade. In particular, the economic and trade friction between China and the United States has caused some trouble and impact on the development of our foreign trade, but the direct and indirect effects can be controlled as a whole. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping's thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the Customs will fully implement the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, conscientiously implement the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, adhere to the general tone of seeking progress in stability, and adhere to the new concept of development. In accordance with the requirements of high-quality development, we will make solid progress in taking root in various customs reforms, further raise the level of trade facilitation, make every effort to promote the stable growth of foreign trade, and better serve the overall situation of the country's economic and social development.

According to customs statistics, in the first three quarters of 2018, China's imports and exports of goods totaled 22.28 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.9 percent over the same period last year. Of this total, exports totaled 11.86 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.5 percent, while imports totaled 10.42 trillion yuan, an increase of 14.1 percent, and the trade surplus was 1.44 trillion yuan, narrowing by 28.3 percent. Specifically, there are the following characteristics:

First, the value of imports and exports increased quarter by quarter, and the year-on-year growth rate was significantly higher in the third quarter. In the first three quarters of 2018, the value of China's imports and exports increased quarter by quarter, to 6.76 trillion yuan, 7.35 trillion yuan and 8.17 trillion yuan respectively, an increase of 9.4%, 6.4% and 13.8%, respectively.

Second, the import and export of general trade has grown rapidly, with an increase in the proportion of imports and exports. In the first three quarters of 2018, China's general trade imports and exports totaled 13.02 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.5 percent, accounting for 58.4 percent of the total value of China's imports and exports, an increase of 1.9 percentage points over the same period last year.

Third, import and export growth for major trading partners, and some "Belt and Road Initiative" countries along the import and export growth trend is relatively good. In the first three quarters of 2018, China's imports and exports to the European Union, the United States and ASEAN increased by 7.3%, 6.5% and 12.6% respectively, accounting for 41.2% of the total value of China's imports and exports. Over the same period, China's imports and exports to some countries along the "Belt and Road Initiative" route to Russia, Poland and Kazakhstan increased by 19.4%, 11.9% and 11.8% respectively, all higher than the overall growth rate.

Fourth, the import and export of private enterprises has increased, and the proportion has increased. In the first three quarters of 2018, China's private enterprises imported and exported 8.77 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.9 percent, accounting for 39.4 percent of the total value of China's imports and exports, an increase of 1 percentage point over the same period last year. Of this total, exports totaled 5.68 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.6 percent, accounting for 47.9 percent of the total value of exports, and the proportion of exports rose by 1.4 percentage points, while imports totaled 3.09 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.5 percent.

Fifth, the growth rate of imports and exports in the central and western regions and Northeast China is higher than that of the whole country as a whole, and regional development has become more coordinated. In the first three quarters of 2018, the growth rate of foreign trade in 12 western provinces and cities was 16.3 percent, which exceeded the national growth rate of 6.4 percentage points, and that of six central provinces and cities was 13.9 percent, 4 percentage points higher than that of the whole country. The growth rate of foreign trade in the three northeastern provinces was 12.4 percent, 2.5 percentage points higher than that of the whole country, and that of 10 eastern provinces and cities was 9 percent.

Sixth, mechanical and electrical products, labor-intensive products are still the main export force. In the first three quarters of 2018, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products totaled 6.91 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.8 percent, accounting for 58.3 percent of the total value of China's exports. Of this total, car exports increased by 16.3% and mobile phone exports by 15.2%. Over the same period, exports of seven categories of labor-intensive products, such as clothing and toys, totaled 2.29 trillion yuan, down 0.8 percent, accounting for 19.3 percent of the total export value.

Seventh, the import prices of commodities such as crude oil, natural gas and copper have risen. In the first three quarters of 2018, China imported 803 million tons of iron ore, down 1.6 percent, 336 million tons of crude oil, an increase of 5.9 percent, 70.01 million tons of soybeans, a decrease of 2 percent, and 64.78 million tons of natural gas, an increase of 34 percent. The amount of refined oil products was 24.59 million tons, an increase of 8.8 per cent. In addition, imports of copper were 3.99 million tons, an increase of 16.1 per cent. Over the same period, China's import prices rose by 4.2% as a whole. Among them, crude oil rose 28.3 percent, refined oil rose 19 percent, natural gas rose 16.9 percent, and copper rose 6.1 percent.