China Daily:

Can you elaborate on the situation and the highlights of trade between China and Belt and Road countries in the first half of 2021? Thanks.

Li Kuiwen:

Thank you for your question. Since the Belt and Road Initiative was launched, China has seen an increase in trade with Belt and Road countries. Especially since last year, we have achieved fruitful outcomes as we offered mutual assistant and protection, and jointly overcame difficulties to deepen our trade and cooperation despite the impact of COVID-19. Official data from the GACC showed that China's imports and exports with Belt and Road countries expanded 27.5% year on year to 5.35 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, which was 0.4 percentage point higher than the growth of the country's overall foreign trade. It accounted for 29.6% of China's total imports and exports during this period. Specifically, the nation's exports with Belt and Road countries surged 29.1% year on year to 3.03 trillion yuan and its imports grew 25.6% to 2.32 trillion yuan. The main highlights are as follows.

First, China continues to stay active in trade, featuring a fast growth in its imports and exports with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), India, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among others. In the first half of 2021, China's imports and exports with ASEAN climbed by 27.8% to 2.66 trillion yuan. There was a 30.7% increase with Vietnam and 33.1% with Malaysia respectively. China's imports and exports with India and the UAE jumped by 50.5% and 32.8% respectively. In addition, there was an increase of 40.6% with Poland and 39.4% with Turkey.

Second, exports of "stay-at-home economy" products, steel and automobiles to Belt and Road countries have become a major driving force for export growth. In the first half of the year, China's exports of "stay-at-home economy" products, such as computers, home appliances and furniture, registered 187.3 billion yuan, up 35.1%; exports of steel jumped by 47.8% to 127.87 billion yuan; exports of automobiles and relevant parts rose by 54.6% to 105.02 billion yuan; and exports of pharmaceutical materials and drugs surged by 95% to 42.56 billion yuan.

Third, China has deepened its cooperation in the energy, agricultural and mining industries, witnessing a steady growth of imported crude oil, agricultural products and metallic minerals. In the first half of the year, China imported 511.46 billion yuan of crude oil from Belt and Road countries, up 15%. Meanwhile, imported agricultural products and metallic minerals reached 162.57 billion yuan and 109.16 billion yuan respectively, with an increase of 30.9% and 56.1%. In addition, the imports of coal and copper products reached 58.58 billion yuan and 52.05 billion yuan, rising by 38.5% and 40.6% respectively.

Fourth, China-Europe freight trains have shown great advantages and become a pillar force in stabilizing trade between China and Belt and Road countries. The trains, with their unique strength in safety and stable operation, have safeguarded smooth logistic flow during the pandemic. According to data released by China Railway Group, 7,377 China-Europe freight trains were handled and 707,000 standard packing boxes of goods were sent in the first half of the year, up 43% and 52% year on year respectively, with the comprehensive loaded container ratio hitting 98%. Customs figures showed that China's imports and exports with Belt and Road countries registered 209.78 billion yuan in terms of railway transport in the first half of the year, up 43.1% year on year, which was 15.3 percentage points higher than the growth by water transport, 13 percentage points higher than that by land transport, and 21.3 percentage points higher than that by air.

Fifth, China's central and western regions have stepped up efforts to build the Belt and Road, registering a rapid increase in trade with Belt and Road countries. In the first half of the year, the trade of China's central and western regions with Belt and Road countries reached 1.02 trillion yuan, rising by 30.3% and accounting for 19% of the country's total imports and exports with them during the same period. The growth saw an increase of 0.4 percentage point compared with the figure for the first half of last year. Among them, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Chongqing Municipality, Yunnan, Anhui and Hubei provinces all recorded a foreign trade growth of more than 30% with Belt and Road countries.

Beginning this year, the GACC has faithfully implemented the principles from General Secretary Xi Jinping's major addresses and fully promoted the pilot cooperation on “smart customs, smart borders, and smart connectivity.” The GACC and the Belgian Customs signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to conduct the first demonstration project in Europe. The GACC has given great support to the development of China-Europe freight trains. China and Belarus entered into the protocol on the Partnership Program of Customs-Railway Operators for Promoting the Safety and Rapid Customs Clearance of China Railway Express (PPCR) at the end of June, part of the efforts to further promote the PPCR. Next, the GACC will continue to implement the Action Plan of the Customs for Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Belt and Road during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period (2021-2025) and build more demonstrative projects for the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative to achieve high-quality development of the Belt and Road. Thanks.