China's imports and exports totaled 34.32 trillion yuan in the first 10 months of this year, up 0.03 percent from the same period last year, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Nov. 7. Of this total, exports totaled 19.55 trillion yuan, up 0.4 percent; imports totaled 14.77 trillion yuan, down 0.5 percent; and the trade surplus increased by 3.2 percent to 4.78 trillion yuan. In dollar terms, China's imports and exports totaled $4.9 trillion in the first 10 months of this year, down 6 per cent. Of this total, exports were US $2.79 trillion, down 5.6%; imports were US $2.11 trillion, down 6.5%; and the trade surplus was US $684.04 billion, down 2.7%.
The main characteristics of China's import and export in the first 10 months of this year:
General trade imports and exports increased, the proportion increased. In the first 10 months, China's general trade imports and exports totaled 22.26 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.8 percent, accounting for 64.9 percent of China's total foreign trade value, an increase of 1.1 percent over the same period last year. Of this total, exports totaled 12.63 trillion yuan, up 2.1 percent, and imports totaled 9.63 trillion yuan, up 1.3 percent. In the same period, the import and export of processing trade totaled 6.29 trillion yuan, down 10.3 percent, accounting for 18.3 percent. Of this total, exports totaled 4.07 trillion yuan, down 8.9 percent, while imports totaled 2.22 trillion yuan, down 12.8 percent. In addition, China imported and exported 4.5 trillion yuan in bonded logistics, an increase of 6.7 percent. Of this total, exports totaled 1.78 trillion yuan, up 10.3 percent, and imports totaled 2.72 trillion yuan, up 4.4 percent.
Imports and exports to ASEAN increased, while imports from the European Union and the United States increased. In the first 10 months, ASEAN was our largest trading partner. The total value of our trade with ASEAN was 5.23 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.9%, accounting for 15.2% of the total value of our foreign trade. Of this total, exports to ASEAN totaled 3 trillion yuan, up 0.6 percent; imports from ASEAN totaled 2.23 trillion yuan, up 1.3 percent; and the trade surplus with ASEAN narrowed by 1.6 percent to 769.64 billion yuan. The European Union is my second largest trading partner. The total value of trade with the European Union is 4.59 trillion yuan, down 1.6 percent, accounting for 13.4 percent. Of this total, exports to the European Union totaled 2.94 trillion yuan, down 5 percent; imports from the European Union totaled 1.65 trillion yuan, up 5.1 percent; and the trade surplus with the European Union narrowed by 15.3 percent to 1.29 trillion yuan. The United States is my third largest trading partner, and the total value of my trade with the United States is 3.86 trillion yuan, down 7.6 percent, accounting for 11.2 percent. Of this total, exports to the United States totaled 2.91 trillion yuan, down 9.9 percent; imports from the United States totaled 948.87 billion yuan, up 0.2 percent; and the trade surplus with the United States narrowed by 14.1 percent to 1.96 trillion yuan. Japan is my fourth largest trading partner, and the total value of my trade with Japan is 1.84 trillion yuan, down 6.5%, accounting for 5.4%. Of this total, exports to Japan totaled 919.36 billion yuan, down 2.9 percent; imports from Japan totaled 924.01 billion yuan, down 9.8 percent; and the trade deficit with Japan was 4.65 billion yuan, down 94.1 percent. In the same period, China's imports and exports to the "Belt and Road Initiative" countries totaled 15.96 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.2 percent. Of this total, exports totaled 8.78 trillion yuan, up 7.7 percent, while imports totaled 7.18 trillion yuan, down 1.8 percent.
Imports and exports of private enterprises maintained growth. In the first 10 months, imports and exports of private enterprises totaled 18.24 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.2 percent, accounting for 53.1 percent of China's total foreign trade value, an increase of 3.1 percent over the same period last year. Of this total, exports totaled 12.3 trillion yuan, up 5.6 percent, accounting for 62.9 percent of the total export value, while imports totaled 5.94 trillion yuan, up 7.4 percent, accounting for 40.2 percent of the total import value. Imports and exports of state-owned enterprises totaled 5.51 trillion yuan, down 0.2 percent, accounting for 16.1 percent of China's total foreign trade value. Of this total, exports totaled 1.56 trillion yuan, up 0.5 percent, while imports totaled 3.95 trillion yuan, down 0.6 percent. In the same period, imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises totaled 10.48 trillion yuan, down 9.2%, accounting for 30.5% of China's total foreign trade value. Of this total, exports totaled 5.67 trillion yuan, down 9.4 percent, while imports totaled 4.81 trillion yuan, down 9 percent.
The export of mechanical and electrical products accounted for nearly 60%, and the export of agricultural products increased. In the first 10 months, China exported 11.43 trillion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, an increase of 2.8 percent, accounting for 58.5 percent of the total export value. Of this total, automatic data processing equipment and its parts and components were 1.09 trillion yuan, down 17.5 percent; mobile phones, 762.9 billion yuan, down 2 percent; and cars, 582.43 billion yuan, up 88.5 percent. In the same period, exports of Lomi products totaled 3.4 trillion yuan, down 2.4 percent, accounting for 17.4 percent. Of this total, clothing and clothing accessories were 934.18 billion yuan, down 3.1 percent; textiles were 787.93 billion yuan, down 3.9 percent; and plastic products were 578.3 billion yuan, up 1.1 percent. In addition, exports of agricultural products totaled 563.09 billion yuan, up 6.7 percent.
Imports of major commodities such as iron ore, crude oil, coal, natural gas and soybeans increased. In the first 10 months, China imported 976 million tons of iron ore, an increase of 6.5%, an average import price of 782.6 yuan per ton, up 0.1%, 473 million tons of crude oil, up 14.4%, 4144.2 yuan per ton, down 14.1%, and 384 million tons of coal, up 66.8%. 788.8 yuan per ton, down 19.4% Natural gas 96.508 million tons, up 8.8%, 3702.2 yuan per ton, down 9.6%; soybeans 82.415 million tons, up 14.6%, 4252.7 yuan per ton, down 4.1%; oil products 38.848 million tons, up 93.6%, 4094.3 yuan per ton, down 20.5%. In the same period, imports of mechanical and electrical products totaled 5.31 trillion yuan, down 7.6 percent.
Data show that in October, China's imports and exports totaled 3.54 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.9 percent. Of this total, exports totaled 1.97 trillion yuan, down 3.1 percent; imports totaled 1.57 trillion yuan, up 6.4 percent; and the trade surplus narrowed by 27.9 percent to 405.47 billion yuan. In dollar terms, China's imports and exports fell 2.5 per cent to US $493.13 billion in October. Of this total, exports totaled US $274.83 billion, down 6.4%; imports reached US $218.3 billion, up 3%; and the trade surplus narrowed by 30.8% to US $56.53 billion. Source: Sinochem New Network