Photo: CFP
China's foreign trade in the first five months of 2024 recorded a yearly increase of 6.3 percent to 17.5 trillion ($2.42 trillion), further consolidating the strong momentum amid the country's steady economic recovery, data from China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) revealed on Friday.
Observers noted that the country's trade performance aligned with expectations, and attributed the trade's continuous rebound to China's production strengths, market potential, and diversified trading partners, while maintaining a positive outlook for the upcoming months.
Exports in the first five months of 2024 recorded an annual increase of 6.1 percent to 9.95 trillion yuan, while the imports amounted 7.55 trillion yuan, up 6.4 percent yearly, according to GAC data.
While the global trade pattern is changing, China's trade sector continues to enjoy buoyant prospects thanks to its strengths in production capacity and market potential, Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin School of Administration, told the Global Times on Friday. Cong remained confident in China's further growth in external demand and imports.
The figures also reflected China's foreign trade recovery which had been majorly impacted last year, Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, said on Friday.
Noticeably, trade figures in May reached a yearly increase of 8.6 percent to 3.71 trillion yuan, recording an accelerated monthly increase, according to Lü Daliang, a GAC spokesperson.
Exports in May stood at 2.15 trillion yuan, surging 11.2 percent year-on-year, while the imports grew by 5.2 percent to 1.56 trillion yuan.
China's exports of electromechanical products in the first five months totaled 5.87 trillion yuan, up 7.9 percent and accounting 59 percent of the country's total exports, according to official data.
Specifically, exports of integrated circuits recorded a year-on-year increase of 25.5 percent to 444.73 billion yuan, while the exports of autos totaled 329.7 billion yuan, up 23.8 percent yearly.
China has been working on upgrading its industrial structure by shifting away from focusing on processing primary products, with a growing share targeting on advanced and technological products, which reflects the country's developing competitiveness for exports in the future, Cong noted.
Echoing Cong's sentiments, Li told the Global Times that the strong export figure for electromechanical products as well as other commodities with high added value is also a major achievement for China's high-quality opening-up.
Cong meanwhile noted that increased imports of bulk commodities reflected China's growing consumption and production demand, indicating the country's stable economic development has boosted the import demand.
The export growth rate of ships surged 100 percent year-on-year during the above-mentioned period, while the figure for new-energy vehicles stood at 26.3 percent.
Both Cong and Li highlighted strengthened trade cooperation with a more diversified grouping of partners including the ASEAN and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries, which will also help China to cope with the challenges posed by "decoupling" practices implemented by the US and other Western countries.
ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner from January to May with a total value of 2.77 trillion yuan, surging by 10.8 percent year-on-year and accounting 15.8 percent of the country's total foreign trade. China's trade with BRI partner countries stood at 8.31 trillion yuan, up 7.2 percent yearly.
Enhanced cooperation with ASEAN is also a vivid example demonstrating the regional economic development bolstered by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Cong said. Multiple Chinese cities recorded strong foreign trade figures with RCEP member countries so far in 2024, as the world's largest trade pact has been fully implemented across all 15 members for a full year.
Moving forward, observers remained optimistic about China's foreign trade given the largely favorable conditions. Li expected more targeted policies will be rolled out, while the continuous optimization of commodity structure and diversifying trading partners will help cope with the impact resulting from increasing trade barriers among other external challenges.
Meanwhile, China's services trade also expanded. In the first four months of 2024, the total import and export of services increasing 16.8 percent to 2.43 trillion yuan year on year, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.
Travel services maintained a growth momentum as the major sector in the services trade, with the import and export of travel services amounting to 660.03 billion yuan, an increase of 48.6 percent year-on-year.
中国海关总署（GAC）周五公布的数据显示，2024年前五个月，中国对外贸易同比增长6.3%，达到17.5万亿（2.42万亿美元），进一步巩固了该国经济稳步复苏的强劲势头。
观察人士指出，中国贸易表现符合预期，贸易持续反弹归因于中国的生产实力、市场潜力和多元化贸易伙伴，同时对未来几个月保持乐观前景。
根据GAC的数据，2024年前五个月出口额同比增长6.1%至9.95万亿元人民币，进口额为7.55万亿元人民币，同比增长6.4%。
天津行政学院教授丛毅周五对《环球时报》表示，虽然全球贸易格局正在发生变化，但由于其在产能和市场潜力方面的优势，中国贸易部门继续享有旺盛的前景。丛对中国对外需求和进口的进一步增长充满信心。
对外经济贸易大学中国开放经济研究院教授李长安周五表示，这些数字也反映了去年受到重大影响的中国外贸复苏。
据海关总署发言人吕大良介绍，5月份贸易额同比增长8.6%至3.71万亿元，月度增长加速。
5月份出口2.15万亿元，同比增长11.2%，进口1.56万亿元，增长5.2%。
官方数据显示，前五个月中国机电产品出口总额为5.87万亿元，增长7.9%，占全国出口总额的59%。
其中，集成电路出口4447.3亿元，同比增长25.5%，汽车出口3297亿元，同比增长23.8%。
丛毅指出，中国一直在努力升级其产业结构，从专注于加工初级产品转向以先进和技术产品为目标，这反映了该国未来出口竞争力的发展。
李教授对《环球时报》表示，机电产品和其他高附加值商品的强劲出口也是中国高质量对外开放的一大成就。
同时，丛毅指出，大宗商品进口的增加反映了中国不断增长的消费和生产需求，表明中国经济的稳定发展提振了进口需求。
同期船舶出口同比增长100%，新能源汽车出口增速为26.3%。
丛毅和李长安都强调，加强与包括东盟和“一带一路”倡议（BRI）伙伴国在内的更多元化的伙伴集团的贸易合作，这也将有助于中国应对美国等西方国家实施的“脱钩”做法带来的挑战。
今年1-5月，东盟仍是中国最大的贸易伙伴，总贸易额2.77万亿元，同比增长10.8%，占中国对外贸易总额的15.8%。中国与“一带一路”伙伴国的贸易额为8.31万亿元人民币，同比增长7.2%。
丛说，加强与东盟的合作也是一个生动的例子，表明区域经济发展受到区域全面经济伙伴关系（RCEP）的推动。2024年迄今为止，中国多个城市与RCEP成员国的外贸数据强劲，因为全球最大的贸易协定已在所有15个成员国全面实施一整年。
展望未来，鉴于中国对外贸易的有利条件，观察人士对中国的对外贸易仍然持乐观态度。李克强预计，将推出更有针对性的政策，而商品结构的持续优化和贸易伙伴的多样化将有助于应对贸易壁垒增加和其他外部挑战带来的影响。
与此同时，中国的服务贸易也有所扩大。中国商务部周五表示，2024年前四个月，服务进出口总额同比增长16.8%，达到2.43万亿元人民币。
旅游服务业作为服务贸易的主要行业保持增长势头，旅游服务进出口6600.3亿元，同比增长48.6%。
