Update: China’s foreign trade up 1.3 pct in Q1, sustaining stable development

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) — China’s total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms expanded 1.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, demonstrating stable growth and strong resilience despite external headwinds, official data showed on Monday.

According to the General Administration of Customs (GAC), China’s exports during the period rose 6.9 percent to 6.13 trillion yuan (about 850.1 billion U.S. dollars) while imports fell 6 percent to 4.17 trillion yuan.

Despite the weak momentum of global economic growth, intensified trade protectionism and geopolitical tensions, China’s foreign trade has maintained stable growth with progress in high-quality development this year, Wang Lingjun, deputy head of the GAC, told a press conference.

The country’s foreign trade continued to see structural improvement. The imports and exports of the equipment manufacturing sector expanded 7.6 percent year on year in January-March, accounting for about half of the country’s total foreign trade, according to the GAC.

GAC spokesperson Lyu Daliang said at the press conference that China’s exports to more than 170 countries and regions expanded in the first three months, with strong growth seen in the high-end, smart and green manufacturing sectors.

In March alone, the country’s imports and exports rose 6 percent from one year earlier, representing continuous improvements compared with staying flat in February and 2.2-percent fall in January, according to the GAC data.

Lyu said that China’s exports now faced a complex and severe external situation, but “the sky won’t fall.”

He said China had made steady progress in diversifying its foreign trade markets and deepening industrial and supply chain cooperation with partners around the world in recent years. He emphasized that China’s vast domestic market remains a strong backup for the economy, adding that the country will turn domestic certainty into a buffer against global volatility.

He attributed the decline in imports in the first quarter to various factors including the decline in international commodity prices and fewer working days.

China has committed to boosting high-standard opening up and expanding imports, sharing development opportunities with the rest of the world, he said, adding that China has maintained its position as the world’s second-largest importer for 16 consecutive years, with its share of global imports rising from 7.9 percent to 10.5 percent.

Looking ahead, Lyu said China had huge potential for import growth, and the country’s vast market always presents a great opportunity for the world.

A breakdown of the GAC data showed that ASEAN remained China’s largest trading partner in the first quarter. During this period, trade between China and the ASEAN bloc reached 1.71 trillion yuan, up 7.1 percent from one year earlier and accounting for 16.6 percent of China’s overall trade value, the GAC said.

During the January-March period, China’s foreign trade with the European Union went up 1.4 percent year on year to 1.3 trillion yuan. That with Belt and Road partner countries rose 2.2 percent to 5.26 trillion yuan, accounting for 51.1 percent of China’s total foreign trade.

China’s foreign trade with the United States expanded 4 percent year on year to 1.11 trillion yuan during this period, despite disruptions from the U.S. administration’s reckless tariff policies, according to Wang.

Wang reiterated that the U.S. “reciprocal tariffs” subvert the existing international economic and trade order, put U.S. interests above the common good of the international community, seriously violate the WTO rules, undermine the rules-based multilateral trading system and disrupt the global economic order.

“There is no winner in a trade war, and protectionism is a dead end,” he said, adding that China will continue to work with other parties to jointly oppose the U.S. tariff bullying and hegemonism, and safeguard the multilateral trading system and economic globalization.