On April 22, the reporter learned from a press conference on foreign trade in the first quarter held by the Information Office of the People's Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region that since this year, Inner Mongolia has steadily promoted high-quality development and high-level opening-up. Its economy has continued to recover, its foreign trade scale has made new breakthroughs, and its structure has been optimized, showing strong resilience.
In the first quarter, the total import and export value of Inner Mongolia hit RMB 47.42 billion, up 3.7% year on year (the same below). The export value reached RMB 17.7 billion, up 3.2%, while the import value was RMB 29.72 billion, up 4%. Wang Hua, Deputy Director of Hohhot Customs District P.R. China, introduced the main factors supporting the growth of foreign trade in Inner Mongolia, "The first factor lies in the growing demand in foreign markets. The trade value of major export commodities such as agricultural products, steel and electrical equipment increased significantly, and the export of the "new three", namely electric vehicles for transport of persons, lithium-ion batteries and solar cells, grew substantially, driving the stable growth of export trade in the whole autonomous region. Second, the industrial economy of the autonomous region is running steadily and well. The demand for production raw materials such as energy products and minerals increased, and the import volume steadily expanded, which played a strong supporting role in the overall growth of foreign trade in the autonomous region."
In the first quarter, private enterprises were the main force of the autonomous region's foreign trade, with the import and export value reaching RMB 35.42 billion, accounting for 74.7% of the region's total import and export value (the same below) during the same period. At present, the number of foreign trade enterprises with import and export records in the autonomous region has reached 2,099, an increase of 216 over the same period last year. The economic and trade exchanges between the autonomous region and BRI countries have become increasingly close. In the first quarter, the import and export value with these countries reached RMB 37.17 billion, growing by 3% and accounting for 78.4%. In terms of import and export products, in the first quarter, the autonomous region's export of agricultural products hit RMB 3.01 billion, up 28.3%; the export of steel was RMB 2.07 billion, up 12.9%; the import of bulk commodities was RMB 24.07 billion, up 11.2%.
To boost high-quality development and promote high-level opening-up of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot Customs District P.R. China has made every effort to advance the construction of smart customs and the action of building China's strength in smart customs. It has ensured more efficient and convenient customs clearance for import and export goods through various efforts, including promoting the construction of automated guided vehicle (AGV) cross-border transportation projects at highway ports in customs areas, facilitating the implementation of remote support projects for AI preliminary screening and identification of timber, optimizing the inspection and control rules for imported mineral products in special customs regulation zones, and vigorously advancing online approval and access to more government services via a single website for imported grains. In addition, it has implemented one-stop service mechanisms such as "paperless declaration" to guide enterprises to make full use of the "Single Window" service platform and promote trade facilitation. It has also deeply explored export potential of seeds, kernels and other advantageous and characteristic products to guide enterprises to expand overseas markets, grab foreign orders, and maintain the security and stability of the industrial chain.
Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of this website. The Chinese version shall prevail.