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China's foreign trade surged in the first quarter of 2021, as the
country made continuous progress in COVID-19 prevention and control, as
well as economic and social development. The country's total imports and exports of goods surged 29.2 percent
year on year to 8.47 trillion yuan (about 1.29 trillion U.S. dollars) in
the reporting period, said the General Administration of Customs (GAC). Exports jumped 38.7 percent from a year earlier and imports climbed
19.3 percent in yuan terms. The trade surplus expanded 690.6 percent to
reach 759.29 billion yuan. General trade, involving longer production chains and better
reflecting the country's manufacturing strength, rose 32 percent year on
year to 5.19 trillion yuan, taking a larger share in the total trade of
goods. Private enterprises are now more vibrant and have become the main
driving force behind China's foreign trade growth. Their foreign trade
expanded by 42.7 percent to 3.95 trillion yuan in the first quarter. Mechanical and electrical products took the lion's share of the
country's exports, with their export value hitting 2.78 trillion yuan,
up 43 percent year on year. Imports of major commodities including iron ore, crude oil, natural
gas, soybean, corn and wheat all increased in the first quarter. Foreign trade in the country's comprehensive bonded zones and pilot
free trade zones respectively increased 41.1 percent and 28.4 percent
year on year. Cross-border e-commerce, an emerging form of trade, has maintained
the growth momentum of last year to become one of the main forces
pushing the steady growth of China's foreign trade, according to the
GAC. The country's foreign trade from cross-border e-commerce hiked 46.5
percent to 419.5 billion yuan year on year in the first quarter. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China's largest
trading partner during the period, followed by the European Union and
the United States, the GAC data showed. In the first quarter, China's trade with countries along the Belt and
Road rose 21.4 percent year on year to reach 2.5 trillion yuan. The
country's imports and exports to Vietnam, Indonesia and Poland achieved
relatively rapid growth. China's trade with the 14 other members of the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership amounted to 2.67 trillion yuan in the first
quarter, up 22.9 percent year on year and accounting for 31.5 percent of
its total imports and exports during the period. Since the third quarter of last year, China's foreign trade has
witnessed positive year-on-year growth for three consecutive quarters,
and this trend is expected to continue for some time to come, GAC
spokesperson Li Kuiwen told a news conference. But he cautioned that foreign trade still faces instability and
uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage worldwide and the
international economic landscape remains grim and complicated. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said earlier this month that the country will go all out to stabilize imports and exports. The MOC will improve the country's trade policies and continue
supporting enterprises by reducing their costs and improving efficiency. It will also actively cooperate with relevant departments to increase
high-quality product and service imports, said the MOC. Enditem
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