Economic Watch: China’s foreign trade hits new high in first 7 months

BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) — China’s foreign trade hit a new high in the first seven months of this year, injecting impetus to the country’s economic growth, official data showed Wednesday.

The goods trade volume expanded 6.2 percent year on year in yuan terms in the first seven months. Exports rose 6.7 percent year on year, while imports climbed 5.4 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

“China’s economy has been running steadily since the beginning of this year, and the foreign trade has maintained a stable and positive momentum,” said Lyu Daliang, director of the GAC’s Department of Statistics and Analysis.

“The year-on-year growth of China’s foreign trade maintained above 5 percent for the fourth consecutive month in July,” Lyu added.

In U.S. dollar terms, the country’s foreign trade in goods stood at 3.5 trillion dollars from January to July. Exports reached 2.01 trillion dollars, while imports hit 1.49 trillion dollars.

Trade surplus expanded by 7.9 percent year on year to 518 billion dollars during the seven-month period.

ASEAN remained China’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade volume reaching 3.92 trillion yuan in the first seven months, up 10.5 percent from a year ago, accounting for 15.8 percent of the country’s total foreign trade. It was followed by the European Union with trade volume standing at 3.22 trillion yuan, the United States at 2.72 trillion yuan, and the Republic of Korea at 1.32 trillion yuan.

China’s goods trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative surged by 7.1 percent to 11.72 trillion yuan in the first seven months.

Mechanical and electrical products continued to dominate China’s exports during the period, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total.

Specifically, exports of automatic data processing equipment and components rose 11.6 percent year on year in the first seven months, integrated circuits increased by 25.8 percent and automobiles by 20.7 percent.

China aims to raise the volume and quality of foreign trade, boost imports of high-quality goods, and help foreign trade enterprises lower costs and boost efficiency, according to this year’s government work report.