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Read in Chinese
Speaker:
Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) and director general of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the GACC
Chairperson:
Xie Yingjun, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO
Date:
July 13, 2023
Xie Yingjun:
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). Today, we are joined by Mr. Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) and director general of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the GACC, who will brief you on China's import and export performance in the first half of 2023 and answer your questions.
Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. Lyu for a brief introduction.
Lyu Daliang:
Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good morning. Thank you for attending today's press conference despite the rain. It's a great pleasure to meet you again. I will begin by introducing China's import and export performance in the first half of this year and then answer your questions.
In the first half of this year, in the face of a complex and severe external environment, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability and pursued high-quality development. The overall economic performance is witnessing a recovery and improvement, and the quality of foreign trade is steadily improving in line with our expectations. According to statistics from the GACC, China's total goods imports and exports expanded 2.1% year on year to 20.1 trillion yuan (about $2.81 trillion). Exports accounted for 11.46 trillion yuan, showing a 3.7% year-on-year growth, while imports totaled 8.64 trillion yuan, indicating a decrease of 0.1% year on year. Specifically, there were five main features which I will now outline.
First, the scale of foreign trade has grown steadily. China's goods imports and exports exceeded 20 trillion yuan in the January-June period for the first time. The goods imports and exports in the first and second quarters reached 9.76 trillion yuan and 10.34 trillion yuan, respectively, with both registering year-on-year growth. Imports and exports recorded in the second quarter were 6% higher than that of the first quarter. Both May and June registered 1.2% month-on-month increases.
Second, the import and export scale of private enterprises continued to expand. In the first half of the year, China's private enterprises recorded imports and exports worth 10.59 trillion yuan, representing 8.9% year-on-year growth. This accounted for 52.7% of the country's total, marking a 3.3 percentage point rise over the previous year. During the same period, foreign-invested enterprises conducted imports and exports worth 6.16 trillion yuan, while state-owned enterprises engaged in imports and exports worth 3.29 trillion yuan, accounting for 30.7% and 16.4% of the country's total, respectively.
Third, the growth rate of imports and exports related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) exceeded that of overall trade. In the first half of this year, the total value of China's imports and exports with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the country's largest trading partner, reached 3.08 trillion yuan, marking a 5.4% year-on-year increase and accounting for 15.3% of the total. Imports and exports with the European Union amounted to 2.75 trillion yuan, reflecting a 1.9% increase and accounting for 13.7% of the total. The country's trade in goods with the United States declined 8.4% year on year to 2.25 trillion yuan, accounting for 11.2% of China's total. Meanwhile, during the same period, China's trade in goods with countries along the Belt and Road jumped 9.8% year on year in the first half of the year, 7.7 percentage points higher than the country's overall trade growth and accounting for 34.3% of the total, achieving a year-on-year increase of 2.4 percentage points. Additionally, the value of China's trade in goods with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) rose 1.5% year on year.
Fourth, there has been a notable rise in the proportion of exports in the mechanical and electrical products sector. In the first half of this year, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 6.66 trillion yuan, representing a 6.3% year-on-year increase and accounting for 58.2% of the total export value, a 1.4 percentage point increase compared to the previous year. Among these, the exports of electrical equipment, automobiles and their spare parts, and general mechanical equipment amounted to 636.06 billion yuan, 621.19 billion yuan and 200.44 billion yuan, respectively, marking increases of 27.7%, 58.5% and 12.2%, respectively. Concurrently, the export of labor-intensive products reached 1.97 trillion yuan, indicating an increase of 0.04%. Notably, the exports of clothing and clothing accessories, plastic products, and shoes and boots amounted to 516.94 billion yuan, 343.42 billion yuan and 172.93 billion yuan, respectively, reflecting increases of 0.7%, 3.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
Fifth, there has been rapid growth in the import of bulk commodities and consumer goods. In the first half of this year, China's imports of bulk commodities such as energy, mineral ores and grain witnessed a significant increase of 17.1% year on year. Specifically, imports of energy products, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, reached 561 million metric tons, marking an increase of 33.2%. Additionally, imports of iron, aluminum and other metal ores amounted to 710 million metric tons, reflecting an 8.3% increase. During the same period, imported consumer goods amounted to 974.84 billion yuan, demonstrating a growth rate of 6.6%. Notably, the imports of meat and edible aquatic products experienced increases of 9.5% and 30%, respectively.
Overall, in the first half of the year, China's foreign trade achieved new breakthroughs in terms of scale, while the structure was newly optimized, showcasing strong resilience. At present, the global economy's recovery is sluggish, with global trade and investment experiencing deceleration. Risks such as unilateralism, protectionism and geopolitics are on the rise, and the direct impact of weakened foreign demand on China's foreign trade continues to persist. However, it is crucial to recognize that China's economy has strong resilience and huge potential, and its long-term sound fundamentals remain unchanged. With the ongoing enhancement of China's economic performance, the implementation of pragmatic and effective measures, and the reinforcement of the vigor of foreign trade operators, we believe that we can achieve the goal of steadily improving the scale and quality of foreign trade.
Next, following the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the GACC will comprehensively study, understand and implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and resolutely implement the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. Adhering to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, we will fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts and effectively carry out themed activities. By speeding up the construction of smart customs, we will strive to contribute to the great cause of building China into a great country. We will also continue to implement all work to steadily improve the scale and structure of foreign trade, make efforts to safeguard borders and advance development, and contribute to fostering a new development pattern, promoting high-quality development, and comprehensively advancing Chinese modernization.
Next, I would like to answer the questions that concern you. Thank you.
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Xie Yingjun:
Now you are welcome to raise questions. Please identify the news organization you represent before asking your questions.
CCTV:
Just now, you gave an introduction to the foreign trade data for the first half of the year. What's your view on the overall performance of China's foreign trade in H1? What were the highlights and positive changes during this period? And what are your expectations for H2? Thank you.
Lyu Daliang:
Thank you for your questions. In the first half of 2023, global economic recovery remained sluggish, the spillover effects of contractionary policies adopted by major developed economies were becoming more evident, and various factors increased instability and uncertainty in the international market. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China's economic performance picked up on the whole. We faced up to that pressure and steadily improved the scale and quality of foreign trade. The overall performance met the projected target. In specific, there are positive changes in three aspects:
First, China's foreign trade vitality became stronger. In H1, there were 540,000 foreign trade enterprises in China involved in exports and imports, an increase of 6.9% year on year. Among them, the number of private enterprises rose by 8.3%, most of which were micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises full of vitality. The foreign trade entities showed more business dynamism. During the same period, private enterprises, a main contributor to China's foreign trade, witnessed a growth rate that was 6.8 percentage points higher than the foreign trade in total. Their combined value represented 52.7% of the country's total and drove the overall foreign trade growth by 4.4 percentage points.
Second, China's foreign trade structure improved. In terms of trade methods, general trade, which involves longer industrial chains and higher added value, recorded a higher growth rate than foreign trade in total. The value of general trade accounted for 65.5% of the country's total, up by 1.2 percentage points. All these show that our capability of independent development of trade has been steadily strengthened. In terms of regional distribution, the central and western regions and the three northeastern provinces accelerated the pace of opening up, with their imports and exports in H1 increasing by 2.8% and 4.5%, respectively, 0.7 and 2.4 percentage points higher than the country's overall growth. Their combined value accounted for 21% of the country's total, achieving a more balanced regional development.
Third, new drives for foreign trade were generated. Faced with the pressure on foreign trade, China has made great efforts to explore emerging markets, build platforms for high-standard opening up, and cultivate and expand competitive industries so as to constantly generate new drives for foreign trade. In H1, China's trade with countries along the Belt and Road jumped nearly 10% year on year. The total value accounted for 34.3% of the country's total. During the same period, China's trade with Latin America and Africa rose 7% and 10.5%, respectively, from a year earlier. All these show that Chinese enterprises are diversifying their markets overseas. The imports and exports of pilot free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port grew by 8.6% and 26.4%, respectively, fully leveraging their role as platforms for opening up. The total export value of China's "Three New Flagship products" – electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar batteries – soared 61.6%. Together they contributed 1.8 percentage points to the overall export growth, showing the great dynamics of China's green industry.
As for foreign trade in the second half of this year, we feel both pressure and confidence. At present, inflation in major developed economies remains high, geopolitical conflicts persist, and short-term external demand recovery is insufficient. We are still facing much pressure to maintain stable growth of foreign trade. But at the same time, we should also see that the fundamentals of the Chinese economy, characterized by strong resilience, enormous potential, and long-term sustainability, remain unchanged. As a series of policies and measures continue to take effect, we have the confidence, the foundation, and the conditions to achieve the goal of stabilizing and improving the quality of imports and exports. Thank you.
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China News Service:
We noticed that the growth rate of foreign trade has dropped significantly in the recent two months, with negative growth in exports. How do you see this change? Thank you.
Lyu Daliang:
Thank you for your question. We noticed that people have paid attention to the recent changes in the year-on-year growth rate of foreign trade and there are also some voices of concern on the internet. We believe that the development of China's foreign trade remains stable on the whole. Although the year-on-year growth has slowed its pace, the month-on-month growth rate has increased steadily. China's foreign trade has increased in the second quarter compared with the first quarter. Month-on-month growth was also recorded for the last two consecutive months. So there are foundations for the stable development. Meanwhile, the stable development is also reflected in the following aspects:
First, in terms of scale, China's foreign trade has maintained growth, and it has grown significantly. The country's foreign trade has maintained growth in the first half of the year, with its scale hitting a new high of 20.1 trillion yuan (about 2.81 trillion U.S. dollars). It is the first time China's goods imports and exports exceeded 20 trillion yuan in the January-June period, which is a landmark new breakthrough. The breakthrough has been achieved amid a complicated, grim external environment, the slowdown in global trade and investment, and fading driving factors, such as anti-epidemic supplies and stay-at-home economy products. This is really not easy. The total value of China's imports and exports increased by more than 400 billion yuan year on year in the first half of this year, which is equivalent to the total value of over 3 million vehicles exported from the country throughout last year.
Second, in terms of the foundation, China's foreign trade has increased in volume and enjoyed more solid growth. Price and volume are two apparent factors that affect the scale of foreign trade. According to calculations, both China's imports and exports have decreased compared with the same period last year. In the second quarter, the imports and exports have both increased compared with the same period last year, with imports growing 5.9% and exports growing 2%. Imports of energy products and exports of automobiles grew by more than double digits year-on-year. The increase in trade volume has led to the growth of trade scale, which means that the country's foreign trade has a solid foundation and has enjoyed real growth.
Third, the advantage of China's foreign trade has consolidated, and its proportion has increased from a global perspective. The WTO forecast that the volume of global goods trade will grow by 1.7% this year, much lower than the average of 2.6% over the past 12 years. A slowdown in the growth of world trade is a common challenge for all economies, and the difficulties are more global. Compared with those neighboring economies who have released their statistics, China's foreign trade has demonstrated its strong resilience, and its competitive edge has stabilized and strengthened. According to our calculations based on the latest WTO statistics, in the first four months, the proportion of China's exports in the international market has increased slightly, which means that the country's foreign trade has shown stronger competitiveness.
As I just mentioned, China's foreign trade is facing pressure, fluctuations, and challenges. However, as a Chinese saying goes, "The journey ahead may be long and arduous, but we will eventually reach our destination if we keep going." The fundamentals underpinning China's long-term economic growth remain robust. China has a good industrial system and complete production capacity. The country's foreign trade has great resilience and vast room for maneuver. Meanwhile, China remains committed to opening up to the outside world and actively promotes international economic and trade cooperation. It has rolled out a series of policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade, and a combining effect has continued to emerge. So there is still a solid foundation for stabilizing the scale and improving the structure of foreign trade. We are confident that we will continue to consolidate our market share throughout 2023 to maintain our position as the world's largest trader of goods. Thank you.
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Nanfang Daily:
The GACC launched 16 initiatives to optimize the country's business environment on June 12, which have been implemented for one month. Could you brief us on the effect of these initiatives? What measures will the GACC take to stabilize the scale and improve the structure of foreign trade amid weakening external demands? Thank you.
Lyu Daliang:
Thank you for your questions. Since the beginning of this year, the GACC has implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council for stabilizing the scale and improving the structure of foreign trade, and continued to ensure the implementation of those measures to stabilize foreign trade launched last year. Last month, we launched the 16 initiatives to optimize the country's business environment. All these efforts are aimed at further stabilizing social expectations and boosting foreign trade.
Stabilizing business entities of foreign trade is the foundation for steady increases in both the volume and quality of imports and exports. Measures aimed at providing more convenience, enhancing vitality, improving services, and reducing costs have been included in the 16 initiatives to address those issues foreign trade enterprises are most concerned about, to help them reduce costs, stabilize orders, and expand market shares. We held a press conference on the 13th of last month to interpret the 16 initiatives in detail so that enterprises could understand and know them as early as possible.
In the past month, we have fully implemented policies and measures to ensure they benefit enterprises at a faster pace. Customs offices nationwide have introduced detailed support measures, tailored to local conditions, ensuring that 16 initiatives are effectively implemented at the grassroots level. For example, based on current information, Qingdao Customs introduced 30 specific support measures and initiated six targeted campaigns to enhance industrial upgrading, improve business environment evaluations, and assist in mitigating enterprises' difficulties while stabilizing market operations. Guangzhou Customs rolled out 20 detailed measures in five areas: enhancing the smooth operation of cross-border logistics, expanding goods imports and exports, facilitating cross-border trade, reducing companies' burdens while improving efficiency, and promoting innovative development of foreign trade. Nanjing Customs rolled out and implemented 26 detailed measures and introduced a package of supporting policy measures, such as "resolving enterprise problems," "automatic delivery of preferential policies," "support measures for technology trade," "customized benefits of free trade agreements," "one-on-one Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) guidance," and "IP protection by customs." Furthermore, customs officials at all levels were invited to the front lines to promote policies, listen to enterprise feedback, and help address their issues, thereby more effectively gathering feedback and implementing policies and measures.
A series of policy measures continue to take effect, benefiting more businesses. For example, electronic payment services for cross-border e-commerce taxes have been piloted by Huangpu Customs, Chengdu Customs, and Chongqing Customs, among others, to simplify tax payments for businesses involved in cross-border e-commerce transactions. The method for inspecting high-tech goods in vacuum packaging has been adopted nationwide. According to businesses in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area, customs officials conduct door-to-door inspections of imported high-tech equipment in vacuum packaging, and goods can be delivered to the factory and inspected within six hours of port arrival. Nanchang Customs actively piloted the "departure confirmation" facilitation measure. Each shipment can save at least one to two days of transit time, saving an average of about 100 yuan in logistics costs per container, according to relevant companies. Shantou Customs took the initiative in collaborating with a petrochemical company's key projects and implemented measures of import equipment such as "declaration in advance" and "inspection upon arrival." The time between inspection and release of goods by customs was shortened from days to hours.
In general, relevant policies continue to take effect, and enterprises are gaining more tangible benefits. Moving forward, we will fully leverage the advantage of customs to address enterprise concerns and continue to implement the 16 initiatives and other policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade. We will work to enhance our support measures and monitor the implementation of such measures. Furthermore, in line with the development of China's foreign trade and the practical needs of enterprises, we will further expand our policy toolkit and strive for a stable volume and improved structure of foreign trade. Thank you.
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CNBC:
I have two questions. How did cross-border e-commerce imports and exports perform in the second quarter of 2023 and this June? Also, with the upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, what influence does it have on China's imports and exports to Southeast Asia? Thank you.
Lyu Daliang:
Thank you for your questions. I will first answer your question about cross-border e-commerce. In mid-June, we detailed the growth of China's cross-border e-commerce in last year at the 2023 China Langfang International Economic and Trade Fair and released relevant data. Preliminary customs statistics show that in the first half of 2023, China's cross-border e-commerce continued to showcase its strength and potential in “buying globally and selling globally.” The import and export value of cross-border e-commerce grew by 16% year on year to 1.1 trillion yuan. Exports rose by 19.9% to 821 billion yuan, and imports increased by 5.7% to 276 billion yuan, reflecting steady growth, improved structure, and enhanced competitiveness.
On this occasion, I'd like to clarify that the data sources and compilation methods for cross-border e-commerce statistics differ significantly from those used for traditional foreign trade. Currently, there is no international statistical rules on cross-border e-commerce. China is one of the first countries to develop such statistics. We have improved our statistical system and methods through multiple pilot surveys. According to the latest statistical survey system for cross-border e-commerce, we publish our statistics on a semi-annual and annual basis.
In response to your second question, the ASEAN is China's largest trading partner. In the first half of 2023, China's imports and exports to ASEAN increased by 5.4% year on year to reach 3.08 trillion yuan. This represents 15.3% of the country's total imports and exports during the same period, an increase of half a percentage point compared to the same period last year. The highlights are in three areas as follows:
First, bilateral cooperation has become closer. Since the beginning of this year, China has expanded its economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN. The second and third rounds of negotiations for version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area were held in Thailand and China in April and June, respectively. The RCEP entered into force for the Philippines on June 2, 2023, marking the pact's implementation by all 15 members, and providing a significant boost to regional economic integration. In the first half of 2023, the proportion of China's imports and exports with ASEAN in its total imports and exports with other RCEP members increased to 50.5%.
Second, the role of cross-border channels has become more pronounced. According to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., in the first half of the year, the rail-sea intermodal trains along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in western China transported a total of 424,000 TEUs of goods, a rise of 10.5%. During the same period, customs supervised and inspected a total of 2.146 million metric tons of imported and exported goods on the China-Laos Railway, up by 194.4% on a yearly basis. These two cross-border channels have continued to expand China's trade reach with ASEAN, driving rapid growth of imports and exports to ASEAN in regions along the new routes. In the first half of the year, imports and exports of regions along the routes to ASEAN reached 438.65 billion yuan, an increase of 21.4%.
Third, the scale of China's imports of agricultural products from ASEAN continues to expand. Agricultural cooperation is a key area of China-ASEAN economic and trade relations, and an increasing number of agricultural products from ASEAN countries have entered the Chinese market. In the first half of the year, China imported 125.08 billion yuan of agricultural products from ASEAN, a rise of 7.5%, which was 6.4 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of China's imports from ASEAN. The import performance of some specific agricultural products was impressive; for example, fruit imports amounted to 40.54 billion yuan, a 24.1% increase, with fresh durian and pineapple imports rising by 65% and 24.1%, respectively. Palm oil imports reached 10.91 billion yuan, a surge of 120.5%.
As each other's largest trading partners, China and ASEAN share a solid foundation for cooperation and substantial development potential. With regional economic integration deepening, cooperation areas continuing to expand, and trade exchanges becoming closer in the future, bilateral trade is expected to continue maintaining a favorable trend. Thank you.
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Phoenix TV:
We've noticed that while the global economy is relatively sluggish, the import and export data released by the GACC shows a significant difference in trend compared to various related domestic and foreign economic indicators. For instance, domestic export delivery value or foreign exchange receipts and payments, along with some foreign trade data, all exhibit substantial trend differences. I would like to ask how customs views this issue. Thank you.
Lyu Daliang:
Thank you for your question. Customs statistics are the official statistics of China's import and export goods trade. For a long time, we have strictly implemented the Customs Law, Statistics Law, Regulations on Customs Statistics, regulations on the administration of statistical work in customs, and other associated laws, regulations, and administrative rules. We also adhere to international trade statistics standards. Based on administrative records of customs declarations, we truthfully, objectively, and completely record China's foreign trade import and export activities. In other words, with the backing of the law, rules, standard statistical methods, and administrative records, these two aspects collectively provide customs statistics with full legal assurance and a robust, reliable methodological foundation.
We have also noticed some perspectives on the issue of discrepancies between different economic indicators. Various economic indicators document the process and status of China's economic development from diverse perspectives. The connotations of indicators, statistical calibers, and collection methods vary, leading to both similarities and differences.
Take the export delivery value and export value you just mentioned as examples. Even though both indicators use the term "export," they indeed differ in several ways. First, they have different statistical objects. The former primarily records the value of products that industrial enterprises above designated size self-export, entrust agencies for export, or export through foreign trade departments, while the latter captures the actual value of goods exported by all enterprises. Second, the timing of these statistics is different. The former is based on the actual sales time of industrial enterprises above designated size, while the latter is based on the date of customs clearance. In addition to some other differences, over a longer period, these two types of values generally trend together, but deviations in individual months throughout history are not uncommon.
Statistics on trade in goods in the balance of payments and statistics on customs trade in goods are indeed both important macroeconomic indicators reflecting foreign trade in goods. However, these two types of indicators do differ. First, they follow different statistical standards. The former adopts the statistical standards of the International Monetary Fund, while the latter uses U.N. standards for trade in goods. Second, they have different scopes. The former determines the scope of statistics based on whether ownership of goods has been transferred between residents and non-residents, while the latter determines the scope based on whether goods cross borders. Of course, there are some other differences. For example, take the mobile phone we use. If it's a phone sold domestically after processing with supplied materials, the former would count the total value of the domestically sold phone, while the latter would measure the value of the imported materials.
Regarding the statistical difference between China's imports and exports and its trading partners, the international trade statistics, which can theoretically verify the figures of each, are actually more complicated. Therefore, China has conducted international cooperation on trade statistics with relevant countries and regions and compared the data. This has been an important aspect of our work. In practice, most countries and regions in the world have adopted the statistical standards recommended by the United Nations, with imports calculated based on the countries (regions) of origin and exports on the countries (regions) of destination. In the case of third-party re-exports, the statistical discrepancy between the trading partner countries will lead to relatively big data differences, which is the prime reason for the disparity in bilateral trade statistics. At the same time, the difference between the price statistics also plays a role. For example, exports are calculated at FOB, and imports at CIF. In addition, exchange rate fluctuations, different statistical time, and other objective factors can also lead to statistical differences.
It is the statutory duty of the customs authorities to compile and publish the statistics on the import and export of goods. We are continuously improving the legal base, standards, and IT application of the statistical systems and methods of the customs authorities, constantly consolidating the cornerstone of the statistical work, and ensures that the data is comprehensive, reliable, and internationally comparable so as to provide better information services for data users. Thank you.
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The Poster News APP:
China's circle of friends has constantly expanded over the recent years, and the markets have been further diversified. Could you please brief us on this respect? What have the customs authorities done in this regard? Thank you.
Lyu Daliang:
Thank you for your question. Promoting the diversity of the trading market is an inherent requirement and a distinctive feature of China's stable trade development. Over the recent years, Chinese foreign trade enterprises have taken the initiative, responded to the changes in the international market, upheld the pioneering spirit, and broke new grounds. While stabilizing the economic and trade exchanges with developed economies, these enterprises have also expanded markets in developing countries and regions like ASEAN, making positive progress in diversifying the trading market. Just as you said that China's circle of friends is expanding, the circle of friends of China's foreign trade is also continuously expanding.
Here are some examples. As the economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN goes deeper, ASEAN has remained China's largest trading partner for three consecutive years since 2020. China's trade with Latin America exceeded three trillion yuan in 2022, registering positive growth for six years in a row. Recently, the five Central Asian countries have become a new growth driver of China's foreign trade, with the growth rate of China's trade with the five countries 38 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate in the same period. Not long ago, the China-Africa Trade Index was released at the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo. The index climbed to 990.55 points in 2022 from a benchmark of 100 points in 2000, which has comprehensively reflected the fast development of China-Africa trade.
Since the beginning of this year, the in-person foreign exchanges at various levels in China have been fully restored, and a number of major diplomatic events have been hosted. This has fostered a more favorable environment for developing multilateral economic and trade relations, expanding all-round economic and trade cooperation, and promoting the diversity of the trading market. In the first half of this year, China's trade with ASEAN, Latin America, Africa, and the five Central Asian countries increased by 5.4%, 7%, 10.5%, and 35.6%, respectively, year on year, all higher than the overall growth rate in the same period.
While advancing trade diversity, the customs authorities have actively performed their responsibilities and duties and fully served national diplomacy, securing a series of positive outcomes. For example, we have actively participated in the China-Central Asia Summit and contributed to securing seven outcomes during the summit. We have helped establish a mechanism for meetings among the heads of customs of China and Central Asian countries. Ten bilateral documents were signed in the presence of President Xi Jinping and the heads of state of the five Central Asian countries, meaning that we signed bilateral documents with all attending countries during the diplomatic event at home. Under the framework of the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, we hosted the China-Africa Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Cooperation Forum, where a joint statement on the SPS cooperation was issued, an information website on the SPS cooperation was launched, and agricultural and food product market access agreements were signed with representatives from Zimbabwe and Madagascar. After China and Honduras established diplomatic relations in March, China's customs authorities have actively responded to Honduras' demands for exporting agricultural products to China. In the presence of President Xi Jinping and Honduran President Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento, the two sides, based on a scientific assessment of risks, signed protocol documents for exporting Honduran aquaculture products, unprocessed coffee beans, fresh bananas, and other products to China. The two sides also signed two memorandums on import and export inspection and quarantine.
Going forward, Chinese customs will continue to strengthen communication and coordination with customs inspection and quarantine departments of all countries. We will deepen cooperation in areas such as further enhancing trade facilitation and optimizing the business environment at ports, and continuously smooth international supply chains. This will help China expand diversified international markets and develop pluralistic and stable international economic and trade relations. Thank you.
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N Video from Nanfang Metropolis Daily:
May I ask about the trade between China and countries along the Belt and Road in the first half of this year? How do you view the prospects of China's future trade with the Belt and Road countries? What work has the Chinese customs done recently to promote trade cooperation along the Belt and Road? Thank you.
Lyu Daliang:
Thank you for your questions. In the second half of this year, the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be held, and there is great interest in topics related to the BRI. Over the past decade since the initiative was proposed, China's imports and exports with countries along the Belt and Road have increased from 6.46 trillion yuan in 2013 to 13.76 trillion yuan in 2022, a cumulative growth of 1.1 times. This year, we have continued to experience rapid growth, with China's imports and exports with Belt and Road countries reaching 6.89 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 9.8%, surpassing the overall growth rate of the country's foreign trade by 7.7 percentage points. The main characteristics are as follows:
First, industrial cooperation is closer. In the first half of the year, China's exports of intermediate products to Belt and Road countries increased, such as by 39.3% for automotive components, 34.3% for lithium batteries, and 28.9% for automatic data processing equipment accessories. During the same period, imports of energy products and agricultural products from Belt and Road countries also increased by 5.7% and 17.9%, respectively.
Second, the impact of connectivity is significant. In recent years, efforts have been made to enhance connectivity through initiatives such as the China-Europe Railway Express, new land-sea transit routes for the western region, and the China-Laos railway. The level of connectivity between China and Belt and Road countries has improved significantly. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports with Belt and Road countries via railway transportation increased by 23.8%, surpassing the overall growth rate of imports and exports with Belt and Road countries by 14 percentage points. This double-digit growth has been sustained for 12 consecutive months. Imports and exports with Belt and Road countries via road transportation increased by 63.6%, outperforming the overall growth rate by 53.8 percentage points. The growth rate has exceeded 30% for five consecutive months.
Third, the performance of the central and western regions is even more impressive. In the first half of the year, the import and export growth between the central and western regions and countries along the Belt and Road increased by 23.2%, accounting for 21.2% of the total import and export value between China and countries along the Belt and Road during the same period. This marks a 2.3 percentage points increase compared to the previous year. Among them, the three autonomous regions of Guangxi, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia have all experienced import and export growth rates exceeding 50% with countries along the Belt and Road.
The Chinese customs have thoroughly studied and implemented the principles outlined in the important speeches of General Secretary Xi Jinping, with a key focus on providing services for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and vigorously promoting its implementation. This year, the following work has been actively carried out: The first aspect is the active promotion of the import of high-quality agricultural food products. In the first half of the year, 44 customs inspection and quarantine cooperation documents were signed with countries involved in the BRI, including 30 agreements on access to agricultural food products. The second aspect is the continued enhancement of trade facilitation cooperation. A memoranda of understanding on single-window document processing for international trade cooperation was signed with Iranian customs, while arrangements for Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) mutual recognition were signed with the Philippines, Costa Rica, and Uzbekistan. The third aspect is strengthening the hardware and software capabilities of ports, optimizing the information sharing and exchange platform for customs along the Belt and Road, and ensuring the stable operation of the Customs-Train Operators Partnership for Secure and Expedited Clearance of CR Express Carried Goods (C-TOP) between China and Kazakhstan. The fourth aspect is active participation in the preparations for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the thematic forum on trade connectivity.
Next, the customs will continue to upgrade and develop multilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms with countries involved in the BRI. We will vigorously promote cooperation in areas such as trade security and facilitation, inspection and quarantine. The Chinese customs will make new contributions to broadening the Belt and Road as a "path of happiness" benefiting the whole world. Thank you.
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ThePaper.cn:
At the first meeting of the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform this year, it was pointed out that supporting the development of the private economy is a consistent policy of the CPC Central Committee. Since the beginning of this year, the private economy has continued to serve as the main force in China's foreign trade. Could you please tell us about the major highlights of the private economy's imports and exports in the first half of the year? Thank you.
Lyu Daliang:
Thank you for your question. The private economy has always played an essential role in promoting China's economic development and social stability. It is characterized by the features represented by the term "Five-Six-Seven-Eight-Nine," which signifies its contributions of over 50% of tax revenue, over 60% of GDP, over 70% of technological innovation achievements, over 80% of urban employment opportunities, and over 90% of the total number of enterprises. Now, in terms of foreign trade, we can add another "Five" to this list. By 2022, the proportion of imports and exports contributed by private enterprises exceeded 50% of China's total. In the first half of this year, the share of imports and exports by private enterprises further increased to 52.7%, maintaining their position as the main force in foreign trade. Specifically, it demonstrates the following characteristics:
First, the number of enterprises and the scale of trade have shown steady growth, playing a significant role in stabilizing the overall situation. In the first half of the year, the number of private enterprises with import and export performance increased by 8.3% compared to the previous year, reaching 459,000, accounting for 85.1% of enterprises with import and export performance during the same period. Private enterprises have become a stabilizer for foreign trade, with their imports and exports totaling 10.59 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, an increase of 8.9%, driving China's foreign trade growth by 4.4 percentage points. Among the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, 25 of them witnessed growth in the import and export value of private enterprises.
Second, efforts in innovative development have significantly paid off, and high-quality exports have made outstanding contributions. In the first half of the year, private companies exported 1.24 trillion yuan's worth of high-tech products, representing a 5.4% increase. Their share in China's total exports of high-tech products increased by 5.7 percentage points, reaching 44.7%. During the same period, private companies were the primary driving force behind the export growth of China's electric manned vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells, with a total export value of 346.3 billion yuan, an increase of 64.6%. They contributed as much as 66.8% of China's total exports of these products. Additionally, the export value of private companies' proprietary brands reached 1.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.6%. Their share in China's total proprietary brands increased by 0.4 percentage points to reach 22.6%.
Third, the imports of essential livelihood products and resource products have grown rapidly, and efforts to ensure supply and stabilize prices have yielded substantial rewards. In the first half of the year, the import value of agricultural products by private companies increased by 21.9%, which was 5.7 percentage points higher than the growth rate of China's total imports of agricultural products; among them, the import value of grain and meat increased by 24.2% and 13.1%, respectively. During the same period, their import value of medicinal herbs and drugs increased by 24.8%, 4.2 percentage points higher than the growth rate of China's total imports of these products. Furthermore, their imports of metal ore and coal increased by 33.9% and 148.8%, respectively, 25.6 and 55.8 percentage points higher than the growth rate of China's total imports of the respective products.
So to speak, private companies have made great contributions to China's foreign trade in terms of scale, structure, and quality. Moving forward, the customs authority will thoroughly implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and General Secretary Xi Jinping's important remarks on the development of the private economy and work unswervingly both to consolidate and develop the public sector and to encourage, support, and guide development of the non-public sector. We will also implement the 16 measures to optimize the business environment to ensure their intended outcomes, offer targeted services to benefit companies and alleviate their difficulties, thereby stimulating the development potential of various business entities, including private companies. Thank you.
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Xie Yingjun:
Due to time constraints, there will be one last question.
Red Star News:
My question is: Could you brief us on China's imports and exports to other RCEP members in the first half of this year, and what is your outlook for China's trade with other RCEP members in the future? What has the customs authority done recently to promote the implementation of RCEP? Thank you.
Lyu Daliang:
Thank you for your questions. The full entry into force of the RCEP marks a significant milestone in the process of regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports to the other 14 RCEP members totaled 6.1 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.5% year on year and contributing more than 20% to China's foreign trade growth. China's trade with most RCEP members registered an increase, among which trade with Singapore, Laos, Australia, and Myanmar increased by 27%, 25.8%, 16.4%, and 15.2%, respectively. RCEP brings continuous tangible benefits to Chinese companies, which can be observed in two main aspects:
On one hand, regional industrial chain cooperation has become closer. The gradual release of the market potential within RCEP will effectively facilitate the free flow of production factors in the region, contribute step by step to a more prosperous market featuring regional integration, and create new space for companies to expand their international industrial cooperation and enhance economic and trade exchanges. In the first half of the year, China's exports of intermediate products to other RCEP members amounted to 1.72 trillion yuan, accounting for 54.4%, or more than half, of China's total exports to RCEP members. Among them, the exports of auto parts and electrical equipment increased by 17.6% and 22.4%, respectively. During the same period, China imported 376 million metric tons of iron ore and 178 million metric tons of energy products from other RCEP members, marking a 4.7% and 70.4% increase, respectively.
On the other hand, tariff preferences have brought continuous benefits. The RCEP, combinable with existing bilateral free trade agreements already in force between China and other members, allows companies to enjoy more favorable tariff preferences and effectively reduce costs. In the first half of this year, Chinese companies enjoyed 1.07 billion yuan of tax concessions for 40.36 billion yuan of preferential imports within the RCEP framework, mainly covering plastics and plastic products, as well as machinery and parts; Chinese companies also enjoyed 1.91 billion yuan of tax concessions for 126.95 billion yuan of preferential exports within RCEP, mainly covering clothing and clothing accessories, inorganic chemicals, and plastics and plastic products. Across the country, 590 approved exporters independently issued 4,844 RCEP declarations of origin, amounting to a value of 4.34 billion yuan.
The full entry into force of the RCEP will further promote opening up and cooperation among its member states in a wider scope, at a higher level, and in a more in-depth manner, and provide a strong boost to China's high-level opening up. The customs authority will resolutely implement the plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council for the implementation of RCEP to ensure that RCEP plays its role in stabilizing foreign trade and foreign investment, promoting cooperation in the industrial chain and supply chain, and facilitating high-quality development. We will focus our efforts on the following areas: First, we will prioritize customs inspection and quarantine rules related to RCEP, improve relevant rules and regulations, upgrade the information technology-driven customs operating system, standardize and streamline customs procedures, and continuously optimize the customs clearance process to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of customs clearance for companies. Second, during international exchanges and cooperation with other RCEP members, we will pay close attention to their customs clearance procedures, inspection and quarantine rules, trade facilitation measures, and measures to implement their tariff preference commitments. By staying updated on the latest developments among RCEP members, we will be able to learn about and coordinate solutions to difficulties and problems encountered by Chinese companies both domestically and abroad. Third, we will intensify efforts to publicize RCEP policies and regulations, establish a targeted service system for technical trade measures within the RCEP framework, guide companies to fully understand and benefit from RCEP policies, and assist them in further exploring the RCEP market. Thank you.
Xie Yingjun:
Thanks for the introduction by Mr. Lyu and the participation of our media friends. Today's briefing is now concluded. Goodbye!
Translated and edited by Wang Yiming, Wang Qian, Ma Yujia, Li Xiao, Yang Xi, Liu Qiang, Cui Can, Wang Yanfang, Liu Caiyi, Zhou Jing, Xu Xiaoxuan, Zhang Rui, Zhang Jiaqi, Li Huiru, Tom Arnsten, and Jay Birbeck. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.
