Photo source: Xinhua News Agency

Wang Shouwen pointed out that we should also see the competitiveness, resilience and advantages of China’s foreign trade. The recovery of the domestic economy has a traction on the demand for imported products. The recovery of the domestic economy has provided impetus to product exports.

From the perspective of foreign trade structure, traditional manufactured goods, such as clothing and toys, are affected by weak overseas demand markets, and export growth has slowed down. In the first two months, domestic exports of textile raw materials and textile products fell by 18%, and exports of lifestyle manufactured goods such as shoes and hats fell by 13.5%. However, exports of mechanical and electrical products increased by 0.4%, accounting for 58.0% of total exports.

Source: CCTV.com

An expert from the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce said: “The data in the first two months are mainly affected by seasonal factors. We still need to look at it dialectically. The data since March Judging from the trend, it may further improve. At this time, it is even more necessary to introduce some further measures to stabilize the scale of foreign trade and achieve high-quality development of foreign trade.”

Find ways to stabilize

Exports to developed economies

my country’s trade with developed economies accounts for a relatively high proportion. However, from the perspective of the external environment, my country’s economic and trade cooperation with developed economies obviously faces more uncertainties. As far as the United States is concerned, the United States has always been one of the largest customers in my country’s foreign trade exports. In 2022, it accounted for 16% of my country’s total exports. But can this advantage be sustained in the future?

“China-US trade seems to be booming today, and the pressure behind it is not small, because the trade product structure of both sides has the least elastic demand.” Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges said.

Judging from last year’s export data, my country’s export data to the United States, ASEAN, and the European Union are very close. In 2022, my country’s exports to the United States will reach more than 5 trillion, an increase of 3.7%. Trade with ASEAN and the EU is also the largest trade, accounting for 6.5 trillion and 5.6 trillion respectively, an increase of 15% and 5.6% respectively.

In the first two months of 2023, China’s total import and export of goods trade with developed economies fell by 13.1%, exports fell by 12.4%, and imports fell by 14.1%; total trade with emerging markets and developing economies increased by 0.5%, and exports fell by 14.1%. It increased by 1.7% and imports decreased by 1.0%. Currently, emerging and other markets account for 55.5% of China’s foreign exports, 11 percentage points higher than traditional markets.

Since 2019, ASEAN has become China’s largest trading partner. In the first two months of this year, China’s total trade with ASEAN increased by 1.3%, exports increased by 9.0%, and imports decreased by 8.3%. The total trade volume between China and the European Union, its second-ranked trading partner, fell by 10.0%, exports fell by 12.2%, and imports fell by 5.5%. China’s total trade with the United States fell by 17.4%, exports fell by 21.8%, and imports fell by 5.0%.

“If Sino-US trade exports continue to decline in the future, and the US market will drop to the second largest export partner in the near future, can the EU and ASEAN markets be maintained? Therefore, how to stabilize the markets of developed economies is very important to expand the space for foreign trade growth.” Zhang Yansheng said.

The slow recovery of domestic consumption will support the growth of foreign trade imports. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the total retail sales of consumer goods from January to February was 7,706.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%. Among them, national online retail sales were 2,054.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%. The country has successively issuedA number of policies have been implemented to stabilize growth and promote consumption, and are constantly being refined to improve policy effectiveness. Most importantly, China’s economic growth is expected to be around 5% to boost market confidence. Domestic employment and income growth are expected to increase, which will protect the basic consumption base, thereby strongly supporting the expansion of imports and sharing new opportunities for China’s economic growth with the international community. At present, the international community’s expectations for China’s economic growth are constantly rising. Exhibitions such as the Canton Fair, China International Import Expo, Consumer Expo, and Trade in Services Fair have also become important platforms for foreign goods and services to enter the domestic market.

The Standing Committee of the State Council makes important arrangements to stabilize foreign trade

Premier Li Qiang of the State CouncilPresided over an executive meeting of the State Council on April 7 to make important arrangements:To address practical issues in different fields , constantly enrich, adjust and improve relevant policies, implement a combination of policies to stabilize foreign trade, and help companies stabilize orders and expand markets.

We must find ways to stabilize exports to developed economies and guide companies to deeply explore markets in developing countries and regional markets such as ASEAN.

It is necessary to give full play to the role of major foreign trade provinces as the main force in stabilizing foreign trade, encourage various localities to introduce supporting support policies according to local conditions, and enhance policy synergy.

Judging from the data released in the first two months of this year, the rankings of the top five provinces in foreign trade in the country are relatively stable. Guangdong continues to lead in the scale of import and export, firmly occupying the top spot, followed by Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Beijing. .

Photo source: Zhejiang Trade Promotion

However, as the largest foreign trade province in Guangdong, the foreign trade situation this year is not optimistic. On March 24, data released by the Guangdong Branch of the General Administration of Customs showed that from January to February this year, the total foreign trade import and export value of Guangdong Province was 1.08728 billion yuan, a decrease of 12.4% compared with the same period last year. Among them, exports were 707.38 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 10.4%.

Industry analysts believe that Guangdong’s exports declined from January to February mainly because Guangdong’s export scale ranks first in the country and its main export markets are Europe and the United States, so it has been hardest hit by the downturn in consumption in Europe and the United States.

In order to fully promote the stable scale and optimized structure of foreign trade, the Ministry of Commerce has launched arrangements. Previously, Ministry of Commerce Spokesperson Shu Jueting stated at a regular press conference that the Ministry of Commerce will continue to closely track the situation, increase support, and make every effort to promote stable scale and optimized structure of foreign trade, mainly Carry out work in the following aspects.

First, stabilize foreign trade orders. Give full play to the role of overseas business institutions, do a good job in trade promotion, and support foreign trade companies to participate in overseas exhibitions and negotiate. Support small, medium and micro enterprises to participate in overseas exhibitions in various forms. We will successfully organize key exhibitions such as the Canton Fair and strengthen investment promotion for overseas buyers. Guide enterprises to make full use of export credit insurance policies and enhance their confidence in accepting orders.

The second is to stabilize foreign trade entities. Work with local governments and relevant departments to guide enterprises to make good use of inclusive policies such as inclusive finance and job stabilization. Give full play to the role of various financial institutions and further increase credit support for foreign trade enterprises, especially small, medium and micro foreign trade enterprises.

The third is to help enterprises solve their difficulties. Make full use of the working mechanisms related to stabilizing foreign trade, promptly understand and promote the resolution of difficult problems encountered by enterprises, and create a better environment for enterprise development.

“In fact, what really affects China’s foreign trade is not price, economy, or profit. We can make breakthroughs between countries, such as between China and the United States, between India and the European Union. It is easy to form a community of interests, and various places can make breakthroughs in this regard and do something.” Zhang Yansheng said.
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