Report on China's Foreign Trade situation in Spring 2021 (excerpt)

I. the Development of China's Foreign Trade in 2020

(1) the scale of trade and international market share have reached an all-time high.

In 2020, China's imports and exports of goods totaled 32.2 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.9 percent, making it the only major economy in the world to achieve positive trade growth. Of this total, exports totaled 17.9 trillion yuan, up 4 percent; imports totaled 14.2 trillion yuan, down 0.7 percent; and the trade surplus was 3.7 trillion yuan, up 27.4 percent. The scale of import, export and export reached an all-time high in the whole year. According to the (WTO) data of the World Trade Organization, in 2020, China's export growth rate was 7.4 percentage points higher than that of the world, and the international market share of import and export, export and import reached 13.1%, 14.7% and 11.5% respectively, reaching record highs. China's position as the largest country in trade in goods was further consolidated.

China's monthly Import and Export scale and growth rate in 2020

(2) the diversification of the market has achieved remarkable results, and the regional layout has become more balanced.

In 2020, China's imports and exports to the top five trading partners ASEAN, the European Union, the United States, Japan and South Korea were 4.7 trillion yuan, 4.5 trillion yuan, 4.1 trillion yuan, 2.2 trillion yuan and 2 trillion yuan respectively, accounting for 54.3% of the total import and export volume. Among them, ASEAN has become China's largest trading partner for the first time. Imports and exports to countries along the "Belt and Road Initiative" route totaled 9.4 trillion yuan, accounting for 29.1 percent of the total. Imports and exports to ASEAN, the European Union and the United States increased by 7%, 5.3% and 8.8% respectively, which were 5.1, 3.4 and 6.9 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate respectively.

The amount and proportion of China's imports and exports to its major trading partners in 2020

(3) imports and exports of private enterprises have grown rapidly, and their position as the main force has been further consolidated.

In 2020, China had 531000 foreign trade enterprises with import and export performance, an increase of 6.2% over the previous year. Imports and exports of private enterprises totaled 15.1 trillion yuan, up 10.6 percent, 8.7 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate, driving overall import and export growth by 4.6 percentage points, accounting for 47 percent of the total import and export volume, an increase of 3.7 percentage points over the previous year.

(4) the commodity structure continues to upgrade, and the export-driven effect of epidemic prevention materials is highlighted.

From the perspective of export, the product structure has been further optimized. In 2020, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products totaled 10.7 trillion yuan, an increase of 6 percent, two percentage points higher than the overall export growth rate, accounting for 59.4 percent of the total export value, an increase of 1.1 percentage points over the previous year.

From the perspective of imports, China's super-large-scale market advantage is highlighted under the epidemic, which provides a strong support for the expansion of imports. In 2020, China's imports of resource-based products such as coal, crude oil, natural gas and iron ore increased by 1.5%, 7.3%, 5.3% and 9.5%, respectively.

The amount and proportion of China's main Export Commodities in 2020

(5) the mode of trade has been further optimized, and new business type's new model has developed vigorously.

The contribution of general trade continues to increase. In 2020, general trade imports and exports totaled 19.3 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.4 percent, accounting for 59.9 percent of the total import and export volume, an increase of 0.9 percentage points over the previous year.

The pace of innovation and development of foreign trade has been accelerated. The leading role of a high-level open platform is obvious. Imports and exports in comprehensive bonded areas increased by 17.4%, imports and exports in free trade pilot areas increased by 10.7%, and imports of duty-free goods in Hainan Free Trade Port increased by 80.5%.

(6) the deficit in trade in services has narrowed substantially, and the structure of trade in services has been continuously optimized.

In 2020, China's total imports and exports of services totaled 4.56427 trillion yuan, down 15.7 percent, narrowing quarter by quarter. The structure of trade in services has been continuously optimized, and the proportion of imports and exports of knowledge-intensive services has increased significantly. In 2020, the import and export of knowledge-intensive services totaled 2.03312 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.3 percent, accounting for 44.5 percent of the total import and export of services, an increase of 9.9 percent over the previous year.

II. The Development of China's Foreign Trade since 2021

(1) the growth rate of imports, exports and exports reached the highest level in the same period in 10 years.

In the first four months, China's imports and exports of goods totaled 11.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 28.5 percent, with an average growth rate of 10.6 percent in two years. Of this total, exports totaled 6.3 trillion yuan, an increase of 33.8 percent, with an average increase of 11.8 percent in two years; imports totaled 5.3 trillion yuan, an increase of 22.7 percent, or an average growth of 9.2 percent in two years; and the trade surplus was 1 trillion yuan, an increase of 147 percent. In terms of US dollars, imports and exports totaled US $1.8 trillion, an increase of 38.2 percent, with an average growth rate of 13.1 percent in two years. Of this total, exports totaled US $973.7 billion, up 44 percent, with an average two-year growth of 14.4 percent; imports totaled 815.79 billion US dollars, up 31.9 percent, with an average increase of 11.6 percent in two years; and the trade surplus increased by 171 percent to 157.91 billion US dollars.

China's monthly import and export scale and growth rate since 2021

(2) further increase in the proportion of imports and exports in general trade

In the first four months, general trade imports and exports totaled 7.2 trillion yuan, an increase of 32.3 percent, accounting for 61.6 percent of the total import and export value, an increase of 1.8 percent over the same period last year.

Table of China's Import and Export Trade from January to April 2021

(3) maintain growth in imports and exports with major trading partners

In the first four months, ASEAN continued to maintain its position as China's largest trading partner, with imports and exports to ASEAN reaching 1.7 trillion yuan, an increase of 27.6 percent, accounting for 14.8 percent of the total import and export value, of which exports totaled 950.58 billion yuan, up 29 percent, and imports totaled 765.05 billion yuan, up 25.9 percent. The trade surplus was 185.53 billion yuan, an increase of 40.2 percent. Imports and exports to the European Union, the United States and Japan were 1.6 trillion yuan, 1.4 trillion yuan and 770.64 billion yuan respectively, up 32.1%, 50.3% and 16.2% respectively. Imports and exports to countries along the "Belt and Road Initiative" route totaled 3.4 trillion yuan, up 24.8 percent, of which exports totaled 2 trillion yuan, up 29.5 percent, and imports totaled 1.5 trillion yuan, up 19.3 percent.

The amount and proportion of imports and exports between China and its top ten trading partners in the first four months of 2021

(4) Private enterprises continue to maintain their position as the main body of foreign trade operation.

In the first four months, imports and exports of private enterprises totaled 5.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 40.1 percent, 12 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate, accounting for 47.6 percent of the total value of imports and exports, an increase of 4.1 percent over the same period last year, and was the main driving force for the growth of foreign trade imports and exports.

(5) the proportion of imports and exports in the central and western regions continues to increase.

In the first four months, imports and exports in the central and western regions totaled 2.1 trillion yuan, an increase of 37.6 percent, 9.1 percent higher than the overall growth rate, and accounted for 1.2 percent of the country's imports and exports, reaching 17.7 percent over the same period last year.

(6) Rapid growth in exports of mechanical and electrical products and labor-intensive products

In the first four months, exports of mechanical and electrical products totaled 3.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 36.3 percent, accounting for 59.9 percent of the total export value, an increase of 1.1 percentage points over the same period last year.

Value table of major commodities exported by China in the first four months of 2021

(7) imports of some commodities have risen in volume and prices

The prosperity of the domestic manufacturing industry has further rebounded, leading to a relatively rapid growth in imports of mechanical and electrical products, energy resources, agricultural products and so on.

(8) Cross-border e-commerce continues to grow rapidly.

Cross-border e-commerce continues to develop well and has become one of the main driving forces for the growth of foreign trade. In the first quarter, customs imports and exports of full-caliber cross-border e-commerce totaled 419.5 billion yuan, an increase of 46.5 percent over the same period, contributing 7 percent to the growth of imports and exports in the same period. Of this total, exports totaled 280.8 billion yuan, up 69.3 percent, and imports totaled 138.7 billion yuan, up 15.1 percent. More than 100 new overseas warehouses have been added, with an average area of 15000 square meters.

(IX) continuous optimization of the structure of trade in services

From January to April, China's total imports and exports of services totaled 1.56445 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.3 percent over the same period last year and an average decline of 5.3 percent in two years. Of this total, exports totaled 746.21 billion yuan, up 23.2 percent over the same period last year, with an average increase of 9.8 percent in two years, while imports totaled 818.24 billion yuan, down 10 percent from the same period last year and 14.7 percent on average in two years. The growth rate of exports was 33.2% faster than that of imports, driving the trade deficit down by 76.3% to 72.04 billion yuan. The proportion of trade in knowledge-intensive services increased, with imports and exports totaling 732.53 billion yuan, an increase of 14.9 percent, accounting for 46.8 percent of the total import and export of services, an increase of 4.7 percent over the same period last year.

Since 2021, China's foreign trade has continued to grow, mainly due to the following factors: first, the policies and measures for epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development are effective and effective, and the economy continues to recover steadily; second, global economic and trade activities gradually recover, market confidence continues to strengthen, and external demand continues to improve. Third, factors such as the "low base number" in the same period last year, the "local celebration" of the Spring Festival this year, the export of epidemic prevention materials and "housing economy" products, and so on; fourth, the rebound of the epidemic in some countries or regions, the impact on overseas supply capacity, and the transfer of some orders to China; fifth, the rise in commodity prices, driving up the growth rate of imports. Generally speaking, the high growth of foreign trade since 2021 is the result of many factors. It is expected that the growth rate of foreign trade for the whole year will show a trend of "high before low", so we should not be blindly optimistic.

III. Analysis of the Development Environment of China's Foreign Trade in 2021

At present, the epidemic is still spreading around the world, the progress of vaccine production, distribution and vaccination is different, the recovery of the world economy is unstable and uneven, the layout of the supply chain of the international industrial chain is deeply adjusted, and the external environment facing the development of China's foreign trade is still complex. At the same time, it should also be noted that the stable recovery of China's economy, the continuous enhancement of new competitive advantages in foreign trade, and the vigorous development of cross-border e-commerce and other new business type will provide strong support for the steady increase in quantity and quality of imports and exports.

China's Foreign Trade situation report (Spring 2021). Pdf