SCIO briefing on China's imports, exports in Q1 2025

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Speakers:

Mr. Wang Lingjun, vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC)

Mr. Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the GACC and director general of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the GACC

Chairperson:

Ms. Xing Huina, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO

Date:

April 14, 2025

Xing Huina:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). Today, we will conduct a routine release of economic data. We have invited Mr. Wang Lingjun, vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), to introduce China's import and export performance in the first quarter of this year and answer your questions. Also attending today's press conference is Mr. Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the GACC and director general of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the GACC.

Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. Wang for his introduction.

Wang Lingjun:

Good morning. I will start by briefing you on the import and export performance in the first quarter of this year, and then my colleague Mr. Lyu and I will answer your questions.

Since the beginning of this year, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China has adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while maintaining stability, fully and faithfully applied the new development philosophy, accelerated efforts to foster a new pattern of development, and solidly promoted high-quality development. Both existing policies and incremental policies have continued to exert their effects. The economy has got off to a steady start, and the development trend is positive and dynamic. China's foreign trade has withstood pressure, achieving growth in scale and improvement in quality. Customs statistics show that in the first quarter of this year, China's foreign trade in goods stood at 10.3 trillion yuan, up 1.3% year on year. Exports were 6.13 trillion yuan, up by 6.9%, and imports were 4.17 trillion yuan, down by 6%. Specifically, there were four main features:

First, the growth rate of imports and exports rebounded month by month. In the first quarter, China's imports and exports reached a record high for the same period, exceeding 10 trillion yuan for eight consecutive quarters. Looking at the monthly trends, imports and exports fell by 2.2% in January, remained basically flat in February, and grew by 6% in March.

Second, the proportion of private enterprises in imports and exports increased. In the first quarter, the imports and exports of private enterprises in China reached 5.85 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.8%, accounting for 56.8% of the total import and export value, an increase of 2.4 percentage points compared with the same period last year. During the same period, the imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises reached 2.99 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.4%, accounting for 29% of the total import and export value.

Third, the growth rate of imports and exports with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was higher than the overall level. In the first quarter, China's imports and exports with BRI partner countries reached 5.26 trillion yuan, increasing by 2.2%, which was 0.9 percentage points higher than the overall growth, accounting for 51.1% of the total import and export value. Among these, imports and exports with ASEAN countries reached 1.71 trillion yuan, up 7.1%.

Fourth, the imports and exports of mechanical and electrical products grew rapidly. In the first quarter, China's imports and exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 5.29 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.7%. Among these, exports of goods such as household appliances, notebook computers and electronic components grew relatively quickly; and imports of parts and components of automatic data processing equipment, ships and offshore engineering equipment also grew relatively quickly.

Generally speaking, in the face of increasing external difficulties and challenges, local governments, various departments and a large number of foreign-trade operators actively responded, promoting a stable start for China's imports and exports in the first quarter.

Recently, the United States government has wantonly imposed tariffs, which will inevitably have a negative impact on global trade, including that between China and the U.S. China has resolutely taken necessary countermeasures in a timely manner. This is not only to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests but also to defend international trade rules and international fairness and justice. China will unswervingly promote a high level of opening up and carry out mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation with other countries.

Customs authorities will resolutely implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, firmly uphold their duties, strictly implement all countermeasures against the U.S. in accordance with the law, and safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests. We will accelerate the construction of smart customs and international cooperation, innovate customs supervision systems, continuously improve supervision efficiency and service levels, facilitate enterprises' customs clearance, and promote the stable development of foreign trade with more optimized supervision, higher security, greater convenience and stricter anti-smuggling efforts. Thank you.

Xing Huina:

Thank you, Mr. Wang, for your introduction. We will now move on to the Q&A session. Please raise your hand if you have a question. Please identify your news outlet before asking your question.