Deepening pragmatic cooperation and injecting stabilizing forces, China's imports and exports continue to grow steadily

According to data released by the General Administration of Customs on the 9th, the total value of China's goods trade imports and exports in the first five months of this year was 20.68 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth rate continuing to rise to 15.3%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous four months. Among them, the monthly import and export volume in May was 4.45 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth rate expanding by 2.7 percentage points to 16.9% compared to the previous month.

Regarding China's foreign trade performance, Lv Daliang, Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs, evaluated it as "continuing stable growth". He said that since the beginning of this year, under the guidance of the head of state's diplomatic strategy, China has actively deepened pragmatic cooperation with global economic and trade partners, injecting stabilizing forces into international economic and trade operations. As of May, monthly imports and exports have exceeded 4 trillion yuan for three consecutive months, maintaining a good operating trend.

From the perspective of exports, the export value of 11.91 trillion yuan in the first five months increased by 11.8% year-on-year. Among them, the export of high-tech and high value-added electromechanical products reached 7.58 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.4%, accounting for over 60% of China's overall exports. The export of green products such as lithium batteries and wind turbines increased by about 40%.

Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and other foreign media outlets paid attention to China's May export data on the 9th, believing that the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom has driven its unexpected growth. In addition to AI, Dongfang Jincheng analyst Feng Lin told Global Times reporters on the 9th that progress has been made in the transformation and upgrading of the domestic manufacturing industry, which continues to play a driving role in the export of new energy vehicles and high-tech products. This is also an important factor in the unexpected growth of exports in May. Especially the export value of high-tech products increased by 50.9% year-on-year, accounting for 29.8% of the overall export value, indicating a significant improvement in China's export commodity structure.

From the perspective of imports, with the overall improvement of domestic demand, the cumulative imports in the first five months amounted to 8.77 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%. Among them, imports in May increased by 21.5%, a year-on-year increase of over 20% for three consecutive months.

From the perspective of the main categories of imported goods, due to the impact of price increases, the growth rate of China's imports of integrated circuits, crude oil, iron ore, copper materials and other commodities accelerated in May, which played a significant role in driving the overall import growth rate for the month. It is worth mentioning that the year-on-year growth rate of China's imports from the United States continued to rebound in May, mainly due to the recent temporary easing of Sino US economic and trade relations.

At the same time, in the first five months, China's imports and exports to ASEAN and the EU grew by 16.6% and 10.3% respectively year on year, and those to countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" grew by 13.6%.

It is worth noting that in the first five months, China's imports and exports to African countries reached 1.14 trillion yuan, breaking through 1 trillion yuan for the first time in history during the same period, a year-on-year increase of 18.2%. In May, imports from Africa amounted to 95.13 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15%, marking the ninth consecutive month of growth.

Lv Daliang stated that in May, China fully implemented zero tariff measures for African countries with diplomatic relations, further accelerating the growth rate of high-quality specialty products imported from Africa, such as fruits and aquatic products, with month on month growth exceeding 30%.

China's foreign trade performance in the first half of the year was so strong that it exceeded market expectations, "Tian Yun, Vice President of the Beijing Economic Operation Research Association, told Global Times reporters on the 9th. According to the current trend, foreign trade is likely to achieve double-digit growth in the first half of this year. Tian Yun believes that the rapid growth of China's foreign trade once again confirms the indispensable and important position of China's supply chain in the world, as well as the continuous improvement of the international competitiveness of Chinese products. He believes that this is crucial for the steady progress of China's current economic development and has significant implications for national strategic security.