China's trade network widens with diversified economic growth

China's total value of goods trade import and export in the first seven months of 2023 reached 23.55 trillion yuan ($3.27 trillion), with a 0.4 percent yearly increase, official data showed Tuesday.

Exports grew by 1.5 percent to 13.47 trillion yuan, while imports declined by 1.1 percent to 10.08 trillion yuan. Overall foreign trade operation remains stable and aligned with expectations, showing a positive long-term trend, said Lyu Daliang, director general of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the General Administration of Customs at the press conference on Tuesday.

Private enterprises' trade grew by 6.7 percent to 12.46 trillion yuan, accounting for 52.9 percent of total foreign trade, up by 3.1 percentage points from last year.

In July alone, foreign trade dropped 8.3 percent year on year, with exports down 9.2 percent and imports down 6.9 percent, the data showed. Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research at JLL Greater China, told CGTN he remains optimistic and underlined China's resilient trading infrastructure.

Notably, in the first seven months of 2023, China's trade with countries along the Belt and Road amounted to 8.06 trillion yuan ($1.12 trillion), marking a 7.4 percent annual increment.

In the January-July period, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China's largest trade partner. China's trade with ASEAN countries rose 2.8 percent year on year and accounted for 15.3 percent of the country's total trade value.

(CGTN)