Foreign trade off to a steady start

China's international trade was stable overall in the first two months of this year, the customs authority said, despite a drop in imports and concerns over higher U.S. tariffs.

A view of Yantian Port. Li Chong

In January and February, total imports and exports reached 6.54 trillion yuan (US$904.3 billion), a year-on-year decrease of 1.2%. However, excluding the impact of non-comparable factors, total foreign trade saw a year-on-year growth of 1.7%, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

The first two months of this year had two working days less than the comparable period of last year, the GAC noted. Exports rose 3.4% to 3.88 trillion yuan, while imports fell 7.3% to 2.66 trillion yuan.

Private companies accounted for 3.69 trillion yuan of foreign trade, up 2%. This represented 56.4% of China’s total trade, an increase of 1.8 percentage point from a year ago. Exports by private firms rose 1.6% to 2.5 trillion yuan, while their imports gained 2.7% to 1.19 trillion yuan.

Foreign-invested businesses had imports and exports totaling 1.91 trillion yuan, down 0.3% and accounting for 29.2% of the total.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations became China’s largest trading partner in the period at 1.03 trillion yuan, a 4% jump, to account for 15.8% of China’s total foreign trade.

The European Union came in second at 833.34 billion yuan, a 0.2% dip, to make up 12.7% of the total, while the United States was third at 733.67 billion yuan, up 3.5%, to make up 11.2% of the total.

The latest GAC data also showed that China’s foreign trade structure continues to improve. In the first two months, exports of machinery and electronics reached 2.33 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.4% year-on-year, accounting for 60% of the total export value.

Among them, exports of automatic data processing equipment and its components reached 217.68 billion yuan, up 11.7%, while integrated circuits reached 180.44 billion yuan, up 13.2%, according to the GAC data.

In 2024, China’s total value of goods traded reached 43 trillion yuan, becoming a major trading partner for over 150 countries and regions, said Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce, on Thursday at a press conference on the sidelines of the two sessions.