In the first seven months of this year, China's import and export volume of goods trade hit a record high over the same period in history, with active foreign trade enterprises continuing to drive growth.
As the latest foreign trade data in the first seven months of various regions is released, new changes and trends in regional foreign trade have attracted attention. Which provinces are witnessing accelerated growth in foreign trade? Which regions have poor foreign trade performance? And which characteristic industries are emerging as export highlights? Here is the latest report from our reporter.
The eastern region leads, while the central and western regions grow rapidly
Recently, a batch of 340 tons of imported copper concentrate, after passing radiation inspection at the Alashankou Port, was transported to the Urumqi section of the China (Xinjiang) Free Trade Zone for unloading place supervision. The company benefited from a new joint supervision model of "port + unloading place" provided by Urumqi Customs, reducing the time “from entry to factory” for copper concentrate from the original 10-15 days to 3-5 days. “This can help us save at least 2 million yuan annually in storage costs and improve the efficiency of the mining, supply and marketing industrial chain of imported copper concentrate,” said Tang Jingqi, Chief Financial Officer of Xinjiang Wuxin Copper Industry Co., Ltd.
This is an epitome of China's steady and positive foreign trade trend. A close analysis of the latest foreign trade data from various regions reveals some clear structural trends.
Eastern provinces continue to lead the way. Guangdong Province maintained strong growth, with a total import and export value of 5.17 trillion yuan, up 13.9% year-on-year. Zhejiang's total import and export value reached 3.01 trillion yuan, up 7.6% year-on-year, with its share of national foreign trade rising steadily. Jiangsu reported 3.15 trillion yuan in goods trade, up 8.1% year-on-year, surpassing the national growth rate by 1.9 percentage points... In the first seven months of this year, several major eastern provinces performed outstandingly in foreign trade.
“From January to July this year, 98,879 private enterprises in Zhejiang had import and export records, an increase of 8.5% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the growth rates of import and export, export, and import for foreign-invested enterprises reach 6.9%, 6.0%, and 8.4% respectively,” said Wang Yang, Director of the Statistical Analysis Division of Hangzhou Customs.
Many central and western provinces show rapid growth. In the first seven months of this year, Sichuan's total import and export value of trade in goods reached 582.52 billion yuan, hitting a record high over the same period in history. The year-on-year growth rate of 12.1% ranked tenth nationwide; The total import and export value of Xinjiang's foreign trade was 253.27 billion yuan, up 39.1% year-on-year. Small-scale border trade and general trade continued to play a supporting role in the region's foreign trade; Shanxi's import and export value of goods trade reached 101.2 billion yuan, up 14.7% year-on-year. The number of active foreign trade enterprises continued to increase...
Wang Debao, Director of the Statistical Analysis Division of Hefei Customs, said that in the first seven months, Anhui's total import and export value of goods trade was RMB 475.89 billion, up 7.4% year-on-year. In the first seven months and in July, its foreign trade scale ranked ninth in China and first in central China. "Since the beginning of this year, Anhui's import and export to EU, United States, ASEAN and other major regions have increased. The import and export of private enterprises, state-owned enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises have also increased," said Wang Debao.
At the same time, it should be noted that some regions have seen moderate growth in foreign trade this year. For example, according to the data of the first seven months, Henan's total import and export value was 394.57 billion yuan, down 9.8% year-on-year; Yunnan's total import and export value of foreign trade decreased 1.3% year-on-year. However, positive factors are also accumulating: the number of foreign trade enterprises with import and export records in Henan Province continued to rise, and the import and export value of foreign trade increased by 14.3% year-on-year in July; Kunming Customs has supervised a total of 2.761 million tons of imports and exports on China-Laos Railway in the first half of the year, and the cross-border freight transportation continues to maintain a rapid growth trend.
Characteristic industries are the "main force" of trade
How can regions achieve success in foreign trade? Our reporter reveals that regional advantageous industries and characteristic industries play a crucial role.
Some continue to give full play to their comparative advantages and enhance the international competitiveness of products. According to Changsha Customs, in the first seven months of this year, Hunan exported 19.44 billion yuan of engineering machinery, up 25% year-on-year. From the regional perspective, the exports of Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan grew rapidly; from the product perspective, categories such as bulldozers, road rollers, forklifts and cranes performed well.
On August 30, the latest report released by Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. showed that in the first half of this year, its overseas revenue increased by 43.9% year-on-year, with products covering more than 140 countries and regions. “China's construction machinery is gaining increasing recognition globally. For example, at the International Construction Machinery and Building Materials Machinery Expo, held in Paris, France on April 24, the R135-8RA tower crane we exhibited not only features high quality, high safety and long service life, but also is equipped with an intelligent command center integrating remote safety inspection, remote equipment commissioning and other functions, which has been praised by overseas customers." said Huang Chengya, deputy general manager of Zoomlion's overseas branch.
Some rely on the local industrial chain and supply chain to strengthen their foreign trade business. Not long ago, under the supervision of Suzhou Industrial Park Customs affiliated to Nanjing Customs, TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. has successfully exported a batch of LCD panels worth RMB 680,000 to Egypt. "From January to July this year, the value of our export products exceeded RMB 4.189 billion, up 37% year-on-year," said Lu Jue, customs affairs manager of the company.
Lu Jue noted that by virtue of its unique technical advantages, CSOT's liquid crystal display panel has excellent image quality, high definition and strong sensitivity. In particular, its HVA electronic curved surface gaming screen has achieved leading position in the industry with its technological advantages such as high refresh rate, high curvature design, low energy consumption and environmental protection. Its products are well-received by customers in countries such as the United States, Mexico, South Korea, and Hungary. "The Yangtze River Delta region has a strong industrial chain and supply chain system. The key raw materials and components required for our production can be basically fully covered by local suppliers, which is an important reason why our exports continue to improve," she said.
Some tap into the potential of characteristic industries and seized opportunities in overseas markets. Hongwei Glassware Co., Ltd. located in Wenxi County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province is mainly engaged in the production and manufacturing of various daily glass products such as vases, wine glasses and tableware, and its products are exported to the United States, France, Switzerland, Malaysia and other places. Jing Yi, financial director of the company, told our reporter that in 2023, its export volume exceeded USD 25 million. The present foreign trade orders have been scheduled to December this year, and it is expected to achieve "full production and full sales" throughout the year.
"Handmade glassware is a major characteristic industry in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province. Compared with standardized and large-scale machine production, our handicrafts can better meet the personalized needs of overseas consumers in color matching, modeling, function and other aspects." Jing Yi said that in recent years, Taiyuan Customs has actively provided services such as customs clearance integration and certificates of origin for enterprises. Local commercial departments have also made efforts to help enterprises conduct overseas exhibitions and sales in Frankfurt, Las Vegas and other places, which have promoted the export performance of enterprises. At present, Hongwei Glassware is planning to further enrich their personalized services and increase the added value of export products.
New growth points in foreign trade continue to emerge
Tablet computers in Chengdu, Sichuan; new energy vehicles in Wuhu, Anhui; Chinese-style toys in Dongguan, Guangdong... Across China, more and more new growth points for foreign trade continue to emerge.
The new growth driver could be fresh produce. In late summer, the factory of Bibo Fruit Co., Ltd. in Shenzhou City is bustling with activity. Workers are busy loading boxes of packed fresh pears into containers, preparing them for shipment. According to the data provided by Shijiazhuang Customs to our reporter, from January to July this year, Hebei Province exported 141,000 tons of fresh pears at a value of RMB 801 million, up 92.16% and 31.28% year-on-year respectively.
"Shenzhou City is located on the alluvial plain of the old course of Hutuo River, a well-known origin of Hebei’s Ya pears and Huangguan pears. The Ya pears, Huangguan pears, Yulu fragrant pears and Hongxiangsu pears from this region are known for their excellent taste and juiciness, making them popular among consumers in hot climate areas such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. At present, the refrigeration technology is relatively developed. As long as the temperature, humidity and ventilation are well controlled, the shelf life of fresh pears can be very long." Bian Qinggang, chairman of Shenzhen Bibo Fruit Co., Ltd., said that the company's fresh pears export volume increased by more than 90% in the first seven months of this year. This year, the enterprise also plans to further expand its export categories and export more high-quality fruits such as grapes and peaches from Hengshui.
The new growth driver can also be user-friendly smart home appliances. From January to July this year, Zhejiang exported nearly 70 billion yuan of home appliances, up about 18.2% year-on-year During the same period, Zhejiang Seng Smart Kitchen Appliance Co., Ltd. exported more than RMB 97 million of kitchen appliances, achieving a rapid year-on-year growth.
"Shengzhou is the main production base of kitchen appliances such as integrated stoves, range hoods and gas stoves in China. Focusing on the needs of global consumers for improving the quality of life in kitchens, we have accelerated the layout of digital and intelligent production systems to provide consumers with one-stop kitchen solutions with intelligent, integrated and series products." Zhou Wenjun, Foreign Trade Manager of Zhejiang Seng Smart Kitchen Appliance Co., Ltd., said that the intelligent water washing technology developed by the company over three years can realize automatic cleaning and drying of steam ovens, which not only won the "Red Dot Design Award in Germany 2024", but also explored the development direction of the next generation of integrated stoves for the industry.
Cultivating and expanding new growth drivers cannot be achieved without a series of supporting policies. "In March of this year, our core product projector was included in the 'Comprehensive Bonded Zone Maintenance Product Directory,' which is a major benefit for us." Gui Wenwen, Operation Director of Sichuan Yibin XGIMI Optoelectronics Co., Ltd, gave an example that after being included in the directory, the company can now conduct bonded maintenance for self-produced projectors within the comprehensive bonded zone, compared to previously having to repair them overseas. This change is expected to save the company hundreds of millions of yuan annually.
In August this year, the enterprise's first batch of projector sets has entered the Comprehensive Bonded Zone for maintenance. Song Shuangqing, Deputy Director of the Free Trade Division of Chengdu Customs, said that the customs has worked with local department of commerce and department of ecology and environment to improve the supervision plan and optimize the bonded maintenance auxiliary system, so as to help enterprises make full use of relevant facilitation measures.
As high-quality development continues to advance, new stories of openness are becoming more frequent.
Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of People's Daily Overseas Edition. The People's Daily Overseas Edition version shall prevail.