China's Foreign Trade Report Card 2023

On the morning of January 12, the State Council Information Office held a press conference, the relevant person in charge of the General Administration of Customs introduced, 2023 China's total import and export value of trade in goods 41.76 trillion yuan, better than expected, to achieve the goal of promoting stability and improving quality.

According to customs statistics, in 2023, the total value of China's import and export of trade in goods was 41.76 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.2 per cent year-on-year. Among them, exports were 23.77 trillion yuan, up 0.6 per cent; imports were 17.99 trillion yuan, down 0.3 per cent.

Customs statistics show:

•  In 2023, China's import and export to and from countries along the Belt and Road will be 19.47 trillion yuan, up 2.8 per cent, accounting for 46.6 per cent of the total value of imports and exports, an increase of 1.2 percentage points.

•  The import and export of Latin America and Africa were 3.44 trillion yuan and 1.98 trillion yuan respectively, up 6.8 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively.

•  Import and export to the European Union and the United States rebounded in the fourth quarter, with annual import and export of 5.51 trillion yuan and 4.67 trillion yuan respectively, accounting for 13.2 per cent and 11.2 per cent respectively.

In 2023, China's foreign trade business entities with import and export records exceeded 600,000 for the first time. Among them, 556,000 were private enterprises, with a combined import and export volume of 22.36 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.3 per cent, accounting for 53.5 per cent of the total value of imports and exports, an increase of 3.1 percentage points.

With regard to exports, the competitive advantages of products are solid, and export dynamics are rich and active.2023, China exported 13.92 trillion yuan of electromechanical products, an increase of 2.9 per cent, accounting for 58.6 per cent of the total value of exports. Among them, electric passenger cars, lithium-ion batteries and solar cells and other "new three kinds" of products exported a total of 1.06 trillion yuan, for the first time exceeded the trillion mark, an increase of 29.9 per cent.

"In 2023, China's economy overcame challenges and moved forward steadily, with production and supply rising steadily, market demand continuing to improve, and economic operation continuing to rebound and improve. In the field of foreign trade, imports and exports as a whole maintained growth, and is expected to maintain the status of the world's largest country in trade in goods for seven consecutive years, and continue to play a supporting role in the economy." Wang Lingjun said, recently, the General Administration of Customs on the key import and export enterprises survey results show that more than 3/4 of the enterprises are expected to import and export this year, flat or growth, "we have the confidence, ability, conditions, and the bottom line to promote this year's foreign trade continue to develop in a positive direction."