Nikkei:
In the first half of the year, only imports of crude oil declined among major commodities. What's the reason according to the GACC? Thank you.
Li Kuiwen:
As I mentioned just now, international commodity prices grew rapidly in the first half of the year. Since the second half of 2020, the prices of international crude oil and iron ore have skyrocketed. Customs statistics show the average price of crude oil imports in China in the first half of the year stood at 2,888.5 yuan per tonne, up by 20.5% year-on-year, while that of iron ore imports into China jumped 67.3% to 1,075.8 yuan per tonne. We should recognize that the Chinese economy continues its stable and sound performance, and factors conducive to the stable operation of prices are increasing. Recently, the State Council has made policies to ensure the stable supply and price of commodities, and the policies are beginning to pay in terms of helping stabilize the market. Rising international commodity prices have temporarily increased enterprises' production costs, but the risks posed by imported inflation are manageable on the whole. Thank you.
BRTV:
Regarding consolidation of primate enterprises' leading role, as was just introduced, what factors support this development? What are the characteristics and highlights of private enterprises? Thank you.
Li Kuiwen:
Thank you for asking. In recent years, internal forces driving China's foreign trade have strengthened and private enterprises have gradually become the top actor in China's foreign trade. In the first half of the year, foreign trade in the private sector increased by 35.1% to 8.64 trillion yuan, accounting for 47.8% of the total Chinese foreign trade, or a 2.8 percentage points increase. Specifically, exports increased by 35.6% to 5.59 trillion yuan, while imports rose 34.3% to 3.05 trillion yuan. The characteristics and highlights of China's private sector in the first half of the year are as follows:
First, imports and exports in the private sector have become more vibrant and resilient. Private enterprises have given full play to their advantages in initiative and flexibility of production and business operations to capture market opportunities. They also demonstrate a quick response to domestic and international market demand, showing greater vitality and resilience in foreign trade development. In the first half of the year, the growth of foreign trade, imports, and exports was 8, 7.5, and 8.4 percentage points higher than overall growth, respectively. Specifically, exports of household appliances, computers, pharmaceutical materials, and medicines rose by 46.2%, 38.7%, and 70.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, exports of metallic ores and ore sand, unwrought copper and copper materials, and cosmetics jumped by 66%, 65.2%, and 38.8%, respectively.
Second, the number of private enterprises witnessing record import and export performances has been increasing. In the first half of the year, that number rose by 37,000 year-on-year to 397,000, with records being witnessed by 82.8% of the total enterprises.
Third, regional development has become more balanced. Imports and exports of private enterprises in China's Midwest registered a 44.6% growth, 9.5 percentage points higher than the overall growth in the private sector. Eight of the top 10 private enterprises in import and export growth come from the Midwest.
Fourth, market expansion has been strengthening. In the first half of the year, imports and exports of private enterprises for the EU, the US, Japan, South Korea, and other traditional markets grew 31.4%, 45.7%, 19.8%, and 28.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, imports and exports among private enterprises for the BRI partner countries climbed 34.5%, of which imports and exports to ASEAN countries increased 37.3%. Thank you.
