China's abroad trade increases faster, Central Asia trade booms

China’s foreign trade grew at a faster pace in the first four months of the year amid uncertain external demand, trade risks and other challenges.

The General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Tuesday that China’s total imports and exports expanded 5.8 per cent year on year to 13.32 trillion yuan (about 1.92 trillion dollars) in the period,

GAC said the growth rate accelerated by one percentage point from the pace recorded in the first quarter.

The exports grew 10.6 per cent year on year while imports rose 0.02 per cent in the first four months.

The data showed that from January to April, the growth rate of China’s trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union stood at 13.9 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively.

China’s trade with Belt and Road countries jumped by 16 per cent year on year to 4.61 trillion yuan in the period.

In particular, the country’s trade with five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — surged 37.4 per cent, partly making up for the weak demand in traditional markets.

Private enterprises saw a fast growth rate as imports and exports increased by 15.8 per cent to 7.05 trillion yuan in the first four months, accounting for more than half of the country’s total.

In terms of types of goods, exports of mechanical and electrical products expanded by 10.5 per cent to account for 57.9 per cent of the total exports.

Driven by robust exports of new energy vehicles, automobile exports soared 120.3 per cent year on year during the period.

A monthly customs survey showed that the proportion of enterprises with growing export orders had increased for four consecutive months.

According to the GAC in April, foreign trade increased 8.9 per cent year on year.