China’s foreign trade to maintain strong growth with improved structure

China’s Administration of Customs reported increased foreign trade volume and a narrowed trade surplus in the first three quarters of 2017, and projected double-digit trade growth for the whole year.

The imports and exports totaled 20.29 trillion yuan (3.08 trillion US dollars) from January to September, up 16.6 percent year-on-year.

Exports were up 12.4 percent to reach 11.16 trillion yuan, while the imports rose 22.3 percent and stood at 9.13 trillion yuan. That makes the 2.03 trillion yuan trade surplus 17.7 percent shorter compared with the same period last year.

The Customs Administration said that economic recovery worldwide has boosted demand both abroad and at home, which in turn lifted imports and exports.

Wang Jianhui, General Manager of the R&D department at Capital Securities, noted that seasonal factors and a low base from the year before are also why this year’s trade numbers look good so far.

“September is the time when businesses come out of the flat summer period and start to run faster to even get their orders done in advance,” said Wang.

China’s foreign trade had been experiencing one of its downturns till last year. The total volume was down 1.9 percent in the first three quarters in 2016.

Rising commodity prices globally also helped with the robust growth. Import prices rose 10.6 percent overall, among which the prices of ore, crude oil and coal were up 38.4 percent, 33 percent and 75.4 percent respectively. That’s a major factor behind the trade surplus reduction.

It’s worth noticing that China’s foreign trade structure has improved largely in the first nine months.

Private sectors and high value-added products are contributing more in both Imports and Exports.

Trade with the Belt and Road countries surged 20.1 percent thanks to favored policies. Trade with Latin American countries rose 23.4 percent year-on-year, faster than with traditional trading partners such as the Europe, the US and Japan.

That diversified trade relations could help hedge potential risks going forward, especially when protectionism is emerging and the world economy is still recovering with many uncertainties.

(CGTN)